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. India .

Assessing olive ridley populations in Orissa
The olive ridley turtle population in Orissa, India is believed to be the largest marine turtle nesting population in the world, with some estimates being as high as 1,000,000 turtles! However, thousands of olive ridleys wash up dead on Orissa’s beaches every year after drowning in fishing gear. What has recently become clear is that nobody really knows how many turtles nest in Orissa. This year MCS will be supporting efforts to provide the methods and training needed to better understand nesting at this globally important site. It is vital that scientists have a clearer understanding of the number of turtles using these beaches so that they can detect and respond to any changes in this vulnerable population. (TCF funded from 2003 to 2004)