The research paper titled “Impacts of Anthropogenic Factors on Nesting Behaviour of Olive Ridley Turtles at Ratnagiri Coast” by Amol R Handore and Ravindra N Bhavare which was recently published in the Journal of Advanced Zoology, has found that while the forest department is taking all the best possible efforts for the conservation of Olive ridley turtles that visit the Maharashtra coast for nesting, the tourist beaches with resorts were avoided by female turtles for nesting.

The study which was conducted between 2019 and 2023 revealed that 60 per cent of beach resorts release their sewage and dump their non-degradable solid waste along the beaches as there is a lack of a proper sewage and garbage disposal system along a few beaches like Murud and Karde.

The study indicates that female turtles avoid nesting on sewage-prone beach stretches. On the other hand, beaches without resorts, or with fewer resorts, showed maximum nesting density.