Olive Ridley turtles come ashore on Chennai’s beaches to nest mainly between December and March, and the eggs collected by Forest Department teams hatch in protected hatcheries through to about May. The 2024-25 season was the city’s biggest on record and also its deadliest: the Chennai wildlife division moved 65,649 eggs from 604 nests into hatcheries and released 55,074 hatchlings, but 1,198 dead turtles washed up on its beaches. Those figures come from a report the Chief Wildlife Warden filed before the National Green Tribunal in August 2025.
With the 2026-27 season about two months away, here is what happens on the beaches each winter, where the hatcheries are, and how residents can help without doing harm.
The nesting season, month by month
- October to November: Turtles gather and mate offshore. Few nests are seen on Chennai’s beaches yet.
- December to March: Females crawl up at night to lay eggs. Chennai’s figures work out to a little over 100 eggs per nest. February and March are often the peak.
- February to May: Hatchlings emerge in the hatcheries and are released to the sea, with hatching continuing until about the end of May.
Last season started late. Officials told The South First that the first nests in the delta districts appeared only in mid to late December, blaming rough seas and waterlogged beaches.
Chennai’s hatcheries and the numbers
Eggs laid on an open city beach rarely survive dogs, people, vehicles and lights, so the Forest Department and volunteers dig them up within hours and rebury them in fenced hatcheries. Chennai had four hatcheries until 2023-24; the NGT report shows that number doubled to eight in 2024-25. The ones named in reports include Neelankarai, Besant Nagar, Kovalam and Pulicat, the last of which is in Tiruvallur district.
| Season | Nests (Chennai) | Eggs collected | Hatchlings released | Dead turtles washed ashore |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 387 | 41,326 | 36,686 | 46 |
| 2021-22 | 389 | 55,713 | 46,755 | 20 |
| 2022-23 | 487 | 49,187 | 38,721 | 97 |
| 2023-24 | 436 | 44,034 | 38,230 | 110 |
| 2024-25 | 604 | 65,649 | 55,074 | 1,198 |
Source: Chief Wildlife Warden’s report to the NGT. Across Tamil Nadu, 2024-25 produced about 2.29 lakh hatchlings, the highest for the state, DT Next reported. The year before, a government press release counted 53 hatcheries across 13 coastal districts and announced sea turtle conservation centres for Chennai and Nagapattinam.
Why so many turtles died, and what changed
The tenfold jump in deaths, with carcasses along the Chennai and Chengalpattu coast, prompted the state to act. After that season, a multi-department task force under the Chief Wildlife Warden was formed. The rules now being enforced include mandatory turtle excluder devices on trawl nets and a ban on mechanised boats within five nautical miles of notified nesting and breeding areas during the season under the Tamil Nadu Marine Fisheries Regulation Act, 1983, The South First reported. Violators risk losing diesel subsidies. The Olive Ridley is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, so harming one, keeping one or trading its eggs is a serious offence.
How to volunteer responsibly
The best-known civilian effort is the Students’ Sea Turtle Conservation Network (SSTCN), set up by college students in 1987. Its volunteers walk the shore through the night between Neelankarai and Besant Nagar during the season, find nests, move eggs to the hatchery and erase the tracks so poachers cannot follow them, The News Minute reported. Forest Department staff walk the beaches in the early morning. Public turtle walks are usually announced from January.
If you join a walk or attend a release:
- Do not touch a nesting turtle, shine a torch or phone light on it, or use flash. Light disorients both adults and hatchlings.
- Never dig up a nest yourself. Note the spot and inform the walk leader or the Forest Department.
- Do not pick up hatchlings or carry them to the water. Let them crawl; it helps them imprint on the beach.
- Keep dogs on a leash on nesting beaches at night.
- Do not enter hatchery enclosures; entry is restricted.
- Report a live stranded turtle or a dead one to the Forest Department’s helpline, 1800 425 4409, listed on its turtle conservation page.
Beachfront residents can help too: switch off or shield sea-facing lights at night from December to May, and keep vehicles off the sand.
Quick answers
When is turtle nesting season in Chennai?
Mainly December to March, with hatchlings released until about May.
Where are the turtle hatcheries in Chennai?
The Forest Department ran eight in its Chennai division in 2024-25, including at Neelankarai, Besant Nagar and Kovalam.
How many turtles died in Chennai last season?
In 2024-25, 1,198 dead turtles were recorded in the Chennai wildlife division, against 110 the year before.
Can I release hatchlings myself?
No. Leave releases to Forest Department staff and trained volunteers.
Information checked against official sources on 18 October 2026. Fees, dates and rules can change; confirm on the linked official pages before acting.
Sources
- Report of the PCCF and Chief Wildlife Warden in NGT O.A. No. 13 of 2025 (National Green Tribunal)
- Press Release No. 794, sea turtle nesting season 2024 (TN DIPR)
- Turtle Conservation (Tamil Nadu Forest Department)
- Tamil Nadu witnesses record 2.29 lakh Olive Ridley hatchlings (DT Next)
- Olive Ridley turtles return to TN coast (The South First)
- Why the Chennai Turtle Walk matters (The News Minute)
