Aman Ullah:
Sea turtles are dying one after another on the Cox’s Bazar sea beach after coming to lay eggs. Each turtle lying dead on the sandbank has eggs in its stomach. At the same time, there are injury marks on its body. Turtle egg conservationists claim that sea turtles are getting trapped or injured in fishermen’s nets while coming to lay eggs on the beach. More than 50 turtles have died in just two weeks.
On the ground, dead sea turtles can be seen lying on the sandbank of the beach in Sonarpara, Ukhia. And that’s not just one or two; 5 dead turtles can be seen lying on the sandbank on this beach in one day. All of these dead turtles have eggs in their stomachs, which are also scattered on the sandbank. And the front and back flippers of the turtles were severely damaged. In particular, the turtles have injury marks on their bodies. Chabur, a fisherman at Sonarpara Beach, said, “For the past few days, I have been seeing turtles floating from the sea. I don’t know why they are dying. After the dead ones floated up, I saw wounds on their bodies.”
Another fisherman, Rashid Ahmed, said, “Two or three turtles emerge every day. All the turtles have eggs. And they are lying dead on the sandbank, sometimes bitten and eaten by dogs.” Hundreds of trawlers go fishing along the Cox’s Bazar coast every day. Turtle egg conservationists claim that sea turtles that come to lay eggs on the coast are dying after being caught in fishermen’s nets. Every day, 3 to 5 turtles are found dead on the sandbank. Mohammad Yasin, a businessman at Inani Beach, said, “I do business at Inani Beach. In the last 10 days, I have seen 10 to 15 dead turtles lying on the sandbank. Those turtles had eggs in their stomachs.”
Nabi Hossain, a turtle egg conservator in Sonarpara, said that all the turtles that come to the shore to lay eggs this year are getting caught in the nets. When they get caught in the nets, the fishermen break or cut off their legs. The turtles that we see on the shore while eating dogs all have eggs in them. Each turtle has one hundred or one and a half hundred eggs.
Nabi Hossain also said, “It is said that there is fresh water in the tank, the mercy of Allah Ta’ala. If such turtles die, our country’s wealth will decrease. Because no animal can eat jellyfish in the sea, only turtles can. So far, about 20 dead turtles have been washed ashore. Dead turtles have come all the way from Sonarpara, Mangartek, north of the beach to Inani Beach. Dead turtles are mostly found on the beaches of Darianagar, Himchhari, Sonarpara, Pyanchardwip, Inani, Patuartek and Sonadia. Every turtle is a mother turtle and dies while coming to the sandbanks on the coast to lay eggs. However, environmental organizations are demanding that the turtle egg-laying sites be declared safe zones. Bangladesh Environment Movement Cox’s Bazar District General Secretary Karim Ullah Kalim said, turtles come to a specific place every year to lay eggs. But we have seen that various NGOs and government organizations are looting funds by calling turtle egg-laying sites and sanctuaries. But this is not benefiting the turtles. We constantly see that turtle bodies are lying on the Cox’s Bazar sea beach. There are eggs inside each turtle. If we cannot make their egg-laying sites safe and if we cannot fence their specific places where they come and lay eggs every year with barbed wire or declare a safe zone, then turtles will die every year.
Karim Ullah Kalim also said that some areas of the sea beach should be declared sanctuaries for turtles. So that no other animals, including humans, can enter there. Everyone must work together to protect sea turtles. NECOM, an organization working with turtles, said that in the last month, 1,710 eggs were collected from 10 turtles living on the Cox’s Bazar coast. And last year, more than 110 turtles died on the Cox’s Bazar coast.
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