RELEASE OF A HAWKSBILL TURTLE CAUGHT LIVE IN A GHOST NET- AN OUTCOME OF CITIZEN SCIENCE INITIATIVES AT CAR NICOBAR, ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ARCHIPELAGO

RAJENDRAN KIRUBA SANKAR^1#, KANDASAMY SARAVANAN¹, JAYASIMHAN PRAVEENRAJ¹, YUVRAJ ESWARAN² & AKSHATHA SORATUR³

¹ICAR- Central Island Agricultural Research Institute, Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands

²Department of Coastal Disaster Management, Pondicherry University, Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands

³Department of Marine Biology, Pondicherry University, Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands

^#rkirubasankar@gmail.com

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The issue of sea turtles becoming entangled in abandoned ghost nets has been reported across the world and is now a threat to sea turtles in some regions, including the Indian Ocean (Wilcox et al., 2013; Stelfox & Hudgins, 2015; Tyabji & Patankar, 2017; Stelfox et al., 2020). The issue of ghost nets and their potential impact on sea turtles has previously been reported in the Andaman Islands but not elsewhere in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago (Tyabji & Patankar, 2017).

In the Nicobar Islands, Car Nicobar is a small island inhabited by tribal groups who depend on marine fishing activities for their livelihood and subsistence needs (Kiruba-Sankar et al., 2020, 2023a). During fishing operations on the forenoon of 1^st April 2024, in the coastal waters off Teetop village of Car Nicobar, some tribal Nicobarese fishers spotted a live sea turtle trapped in a floating ghost net (Figures 1 and 2). As part of the citizen science initiatives implemented in Car Nicobar, the tribal fishers were aware of the ecological significance of sea turtles and the need for their conservation (Nicobar Times, 2023, 2024). They approached the ghost net and removed the entangled turtle by cutting the net, then released the sea turtle after it was freed. Examination of videos and photos identified the turtle as a juvenile hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) (Figure 3). In a video shared by the fishers, the authors of this observation could see a decomposing dead turtle also entangled in the net, however, we could not identify the species.

Figure 1. Location of ghost gear at Car Nicobar.Figure 2. Juvenile hawksbill turtle entangled in ghost gear at Car Nicobar. (Photo credit: Junaid Khan)Figure 3. Juvenile hawksbill turtle freed from ghost gear at Car Nicobar. (Photo credit: Junaid Khan)

Hawksbill turtles are recognized as keystone species in coral reef and seagrass ecosystems (Patel et al., 2022). The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are home to nesting and foraging populations of hawksbill turtles (Bhaskar, 1979, Swaminathan et al., 2017). Sea turtles in the area may be legally caught for local consumption by tribal communities (Kiruba-Sankar et al., 2023b).

Understanding the dynamics of sea turtle abundance in the Car Nicobar coastal waters has been the primary focus of the collaborative program launched by ICAR- Central Island Agricultural Research Institute, Port Blair, and the Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi. A series of awareness programs supported the citizen science initiatives on sea turtle monitoring (Nicobar Times, 2023, 2024) which led to the report of this turtle entangled in a ghost net.

Abandoned fishing gear remains a hazard to marine wildlife in the coastal waters of Car Nicobar Island (Kiruba-Sankar et al., 2023c). In the future, more knowledge about the detrimental impacts of abandoned fishing gear on vulnerable marine animals, like sea turtles, should be facilitated through interactions with the local communities. To stop future occurrences of entanglement, the local tribes could also be involved in recovering abandoned fishing gear from Car Nicobar’s waters. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The work was conducted under the DST-funded project Augmenting Livelihood, Resilience, and Knowledge Generation through the coastal fisheries information hub for the Nicobar tribes of Car Nicobar Island. The local tribal fisherman provided the authors with timely information on the ghost net entanglement, which is acknowledged. The authors also acknowledge the continuous assistance and motivation from Dr. Eaknath B. Chakurkar, Director of CIARI, to complete the work at Car Nicobar.

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