132 newly hatched olive ridley sea turtles from the Marine Park Hatchery on St. Martin’s Island have been released into the Bay of Bengal. The release took place on Thursday (March 20) at 10:00 AM from the Marine Park Point on the island’s western beach.
The information was confirmed by Ali Haider, coordinator of the social organization Amar Saint Martin.
For the past two years, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Department of Environment have collaborated with Amar Saint Martin to incubate and release turtle hatchlings from the Marine Park Hatchery.
As part of this ongoing initiative, between November 1, 2024, and March 3, 2025, 3,316 turtle eggs from 27 mother turtles were collected and incubated with the help of two egg collectors. By Thursday, 1,421 hatchlings had successfully hatched and been released into the sea in several phases.
Ayatullah Khomeini, Department of Environment official Abdul Aziz, and other local dignitaries released the latest batch of hatchlings.
By Mohammad Morshed
Photo: Collected
