Kendrapara: Lakhs of eggs laid by Olive Ridley sea turtles in Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary this year are suspected to have been destroyed due to surging of waves on the coast.
The sea waves from deep water approached the shore upto 400 metre at beach where around 1 lakh Olive Ridleys had laid eggs.
Sources said that the surging waves might have led to damage of eggs at Nasi 2 nesting beach in Gahirmatha in the past two days.
Over 6 lakh endangered sea turtles had thronged the Bay of Bengal coast to join the mass nesting process at Nasi 2 from March 6 till 12 this year.
The incubation period is usually between 45 and 60 days under natural conditions. The eggs might have incubated within next 3-4 days.
Earlier, Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) had issued warning for nine coastal states including Odisha about rough seas during April 21-22. It had warned the fishermen and coastal population to be cautious during this period.