521 newly hatched baby turtles have been released into the saline waters of the Bay of Bengal from a hatchery near the coast of Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar.
The release took place at around 10:00 AM on Monday at the Gholarchar beach area of Shah Porir Dwip under the Sabrang Union in Teknaf upazila.
Abdul Qayyum, Manager of Natural Resource Management and Climate Change at Nature Conservation Management (NACOM), said, “This season, we collected around 8,500 sea turtle eggs from the coastal areas nearby. So far, approximately 5,500 hatchlings have been successfully released into the sea in several phases.”
The latest batch of hatchlings released on Monday morning were born in a hatchery in the Majherpara area. After hatching, they were gently released into the salty seawater.
According to Abdul Qayyum, 25,700 turtle eggs have been collected this year from 12 different points across the Teknaf region and greater Cox’s Bazar district.
“About 85 percent of the collected eggs have successfully hatched,” he added. “On Monday morning, two NACOM staff members—Alir Johar and Md. Faisal—released the hatchlings into the sea using large plastic bowls and buckets. One by one, the tiny turtles made their way into the waves.”
This effort is part of an ongoing conservation initiative to protect endangered sea turtle species along Bangladesh’s southern coast.
By Mohammad Morshed
Photo: Courtesy
