Geographical perspective of the sea turtle nesting beaches: the human threats on sea turtles and their nesting habitat in Thalalla beach, Matara

Abstract

Thalalla Beach, situated in the southern coast of Sri Lanka has a high potential as a nesting beach and attracts quite a number of sea turtles (STs) for nesting in the year-round. The objectives of the survey are to identify Geographical importance of Thalalla beach as sea turtle (ST) nesting beach and to documenting the human threats to the STs and their nesting habitat. The survey was conducted between the period of April and December 2016 within the 3KMs distance in Thalalla beach. Field visitation carried out 6 days randomly and spend around 4-5 hours each time. Human activities related to the STs and turtle nesting activities were recorded by direct observation. Besides, questionnaire survey was conducted with 30 local people and officials. Purposive sampling technique was employed to select respondents. Six such discussions were conducted each lasting not more than 40 minutes. During the month of December higher number of visits by Leatherback, Green and Olive Ridley to Thalalla beach for nesting was recorded. STs visit the beach for nesting during night hours, and high from 11.00 pm to 1.00am compared to other time periods. Thalalla beach attracts mostly Olive Ridley followed by Hawksbill, Green and Leatherback turtles. The main threat to STs at Thalalla beach is stealing eggs. The stolen eggs are used for various purposes. This has drastically reduced the number of hatchlings which go back to the sea. Moreover, especially between December and April killing STs for selling as food, mainly for locals is one of the unfavorable situations in Thalalla. Since the fishery is the main livelihood in the Thalalla area, accidental trapping in fishing nets is another threat faced by sea turtles. According to the survey, a small group of people in the Thalalla area are engaged in making handicraft using ST’s shells as their main livelihood. Besides, due to the intensive human activities at the beach replaced the area with more waste materials and this may reduce the arrival number of STs towards the beach.