After almost a year, a sea turtle laid 125 eggs on a deserted beach in Cox's Bazar again. On Tuesday evening, the turtle laid its eggs and returned to the sea at Pechar Dweep beach adjacent to the Bangladesh Marine Research Institute.
Natural Resources Manager of Nature Conservation Management Abdul Qayyum said that an olive ridley turtle laid 125 eggs in the beach area of Pechar Dweep. The eggs are being preserved under Nature Conservation Management ex situ method under USAID's Eco Life project. This is the first sea turtle seen in the Cox's Bazar area this season. The turtle returned safely to the sea.
Nature Conservation Management official Abdul Latif collects the eggs scientifically and preserves the eggs in a safe place on the beach sand by ex situ method.
Assistant Director of Nature Conservation Management. Shafiqur Rahman said that the eggs will be intensively cared for in the hatchery for the next three months. After that, when the eggs hatch, the turtles will be safely released into the sea again.
Sea turtles usually lay their eggs on the beach from September to April and May. But for several years, sea turtles are rarely seen on Cox's Bazar beach. September, October, November and December are the time for turtles to lay eggs, but turtles do not come to lay eggs at this time. Last year on January 15, the turtle laid its first egg. Eggs were laid on January 3 this year.
Dr. Shafiqur Rahman also said that there are 10 hatcheries in Cox's Bazar's long beach St. Martin's Island and Sonadia Island, where turtle eggs are stored. Turtles used to lay eggs in 52 spots on St. Martin's and Long beach, now they lay eggs on 34 spots on the beach. In 2022, turtles laid 5650 eggs in these spots.
According to the Nature Conservation Management, each hatchery hatches between two and a half thousand baby turtles. According to this, about 300,000 baby turtles were released into the sea under this project in Cox's Bazar in 20 years.
Director General of Bangladesh Sea Research Institute Syed Mahmud Belal Haider said that turtles coming to the beach after a long time is a good news. The tortoise laid 125 eggs. In the hatchery, the eggs will hatch after about three months. The babies will be released into the sea. The children will return to their parents' home thousands of miles away. If no other calamity occurs, these young turtles will one day grow up and travel thousands of miles again to lay their eggs on a full moon night back on this owl island, where their mother once came to lay her eggs.