Disposed

News Item Titled Experts Are Alarmed as 350 Turtles Was Ashore Dead Till January 15 Published in the Newspaper the New Indian Express Chennai E Edition Dated 16 01 2025 v. Union of India through the Secretary Ministry of Environment and Forest

NGT17 Feb 2026Original Application No. 13/2025

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

The NGT Southern Zone, acting suo motu upon news reports of mass sea turtle mortality, reviewed compliance of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh authorities regarding Supreme Court directions for turtle conservation. The Tribunal endorsed existing enforcement measures and mandated strict adherence to SOPs, including TED mandatory use and light pollution control.

What did the court decide?

Respondents directed to strictly comply with Supreme Court directions, implement SOPs, enforce TEDs, and adhere to memoranda regarding light and sound restrictions during turtle nesting seasons.

News Item Titled Experts Are Alarmed as 350 Turtles Was Ashore Dead Till January 15 Published in the Newspaper the New Indian Express Chennai E Edition Dated 16 01 2025 vs Union of India through the Secretary Ministry of Environment and Forest — NGT (2026) — LawSathi Research

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Item No.3:-

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BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL SOUTHERN ZONE, CHENNAI

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Tuesday, the 17^th day of February, 2026.

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[Through Physical Hearing (Hybrid Option)]

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Original Application No.13 of 2025 (SZ)

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IN THE MATTER OF:

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Tribunal on its own motion - SUO MOTU based on the News item in The New Indian Express newspaper, Chennai e-edition dated 16.01.2025, titled, “Experts are alarmed as 350 turtles was ashore dead till January 15”.

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With

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1. Union of India

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Through the Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Indira Paryavaran Bhavan, Jorbagh,

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New Delhi – 110 003.

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2. The Principal Secretary to Govt. of Tamil Nadu

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Department of Environment, Climate Change and Forests, Govt. Secretariat, Fort St. George, Chennai, Tamil Nadu – 600 009.

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3. Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority Through the Member Secretary, Panagal Building, Saidapet, Chennai – 600 015.

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4. The Chairman

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Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board No.76, Anna Salai, Guindy, Chennai, Tamil Nadu – 600 032.

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5. Department of Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare Rep. by its Commissioner,

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3^rd Floor, Integrated Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Building, Nandanam, Chennai – 600 035.

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6. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests & Chief Wildlife Warden (Head of Department) Forest Headquarters Building, Near Kannikapuram check post, Guindy – Velacherry Main Road, Guindy, Chennai – 600 032.

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7. Department of Fisheries Andhra Pradesh

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Rep. by its Commissioner, Bandar Road, Poranki, Vijayawada – 521 137.

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8. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of Forest Force Aranya Bhavan, PVS Landmark, Near APIIC Towers, Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh – 522 503.

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[R7 & R8 are Suo Motu impleaded as per Order dt.31.01.2025]

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...Respondent(s)

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For Applicant(s): Suo Motu.

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For Respondent(s): Mr. S. Sai Srujan Tayi for R1. Dr. D. Shanmuganathan for R2, R3, R5 & R6. Mr. S. Sai Sathya Jith for R4. Mr. K. Ravindranath for R7 & R8.

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Judgment Reserved on: 09^th February, 2026.

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CORAM :

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HON’BLE Smt. JUSTICE PUSHPA SATHYANARAYANA, JUDICIAL MEMBER

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HON’BLE Dr. PRASHANT GARGAVA, EXPERT MEMBER

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J U D G M E N T

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Delivered by Smt. Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana, Judicial Member

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1) Taking cognizance of the news item reported in The New Indian Express , Chennai Edition, dated 16.01.2025, titled “Experts are alarmed as 350 turtles washed ashore dead till January 15” as well as reports published in various newspapers, namely The Times of India dated 17.01.2025, titled “More than 500 sea turtles found dead along Chennai coast” and The Hindu dated 17.01.2025, titled “High-level review meeting to be held amid surge in death of Olive Ridley turtles in city”, the above matter was registered suo motu by this Tribunal.

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2) As the number kept increasing, this Tribunal had sought for follow-up reports from the respondent authorities. It was suspected that the majority of the turtles had died due to

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drowning after becoming entangled in fishing nets, particularly those used for squid, which are laid 3 Nautical Miles from the shore in the late evening and harvested in the next morning. If a turtle gets entangled during the night, it cannot survive until morning. As the Olive Ridley turtle being a Schedule -1 species, which is protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, the Forest Department had to conduct postmortem before the carcasses were buried. Hence, the Fisheries Department, Forest Department and the Coast Guard were directed to implement the enforcement of trawling and gillnets as per the Standard Operation Procedure ( SOP ) submitted before the Hon’ble High Court of Madras.

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3) The Department Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare had filed several reports. The action taken report on the protection and conservation of sea turtles dated 31.01.2025 was the first report filed by the Fisheries Department mentioning that already there is a notification vide G.O. Ms. No.146 of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Department dated 27.09.2016 and G.O. Ms. No.62 of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Department dated 10.03.2017 issued to prohibit the fishing by mechanized fishing vessels, motorized country crafts with engine capacity of more than 10 HP and usage of ray fish nets by motorized country crafts and those using mechanized fishing techniques in a radius of 5 Nautical Mile around potential nesting and breeding sites of sea turtles identified by Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute and Department of Forest in the coastal districts of the Tamil Nadu.

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4) In this regard, it was also reported that 24 fishing boats were charge sheeted due to contravention of Tamil Nadu Marine Fishing Regulation ( TNMFR ) Act for fishing within 5 NM. As per the recommendation made during the meeting conducted on 21.01.2025 by the Chief Secretary to Government of Tamil Nadu and to comply with the G.O. Ms. 186 dated 30.09.2015 to enforce the Tamil Nadu Marine Fishing Regulation ( TNMFR ) Rules, instructions were given to the authorized officers of the department to strictly enforce the Turtle Excluder Device ( TED ) installation and to penalize the violators.

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5) In the additional action taken report dated 07.02.2025 of the Fisheries Department, it was stated that for the purpose of the conservation of sea turtles, the following actions were taken:

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(i) Implementation of fishing restrictions especially within 5 Nautical Mile area from the shore;

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(ii) Penal action for violations;

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(iii) Authorization of Coastal Security Group and Marine Enforcement Wing;

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(iv) GPS monitoring of fishing boats within 5 Nautical Mile; and

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(v) Enforcing the use of TED in the trawl nets.

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6) The report dated 02.06.2025 of the Fisheries Department stated that the Chief Secretary to Government of Tamil Nadu decided to engage the Coast Guard and Coastal Security Group Police to initiate penal action against the violators of the TNMFR Act and Rules. Regarding the status of TED, a model has been developed by the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology ( CIFT ), with which, the Government of India proposed to take steps to implement the scheme for providing TED to fishing boats throughout India. Thirdly, the steps to be taken for upcoming sea turtle breeding season by conducting awareness campaigns, erecting sufficient hoardings in prominent places of fishing harbour, etc. were proposed.

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7) On the same lines, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest ( PCCF ) also had filed his report furnishing the statistics in various districts of Tamil Nadu regarding the number of hatcheries, number of nests, number of eggs collected, number of hatchlings released, egg casualty reported and the number of dead turtles washed ashore reported. The statistics were provided from 202021 to 2024-25.

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8) A perusal of the same would reveal that there has been a steady surge in the number of dead turtles. Hence, to mitigate the sea turtle mortality in the State of Tamil Nadu, the PCCF has decided that a long-term strategy to reduce the turtle mortality would be taken up. The State Government also will

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consider providing legal support for protecting such identified critical sea turtle congregation and nesting areas. It was also decided to undertake a long-term fishermen education and orientation programme on turtle conservation, making them stakeholders in the programme. Further, it was decided to strengthen the surveillance mechanism jointly by the departments of Forest, Fisheries, Coast Guard and the Coastal Security Group. The use of TED has been made mandatory for fishing to conserve the turtles. Further, it was decided to enforce its use strictly. In order to protect the turtles from losing their direction, steps would be taken to switch off bright lights from beaches, for which the Government Orders are already in place. It is also stated that the large group of volunteers are already working in the turtle conservation programme.

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9) The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India also passed orders in Civil Appeal No.288 of 2021 [Arnav Sinha vs. The State of West Bengal & Ors.] , wherein it took cognizance of the issue of dead turtles being washed ashore along the coasts of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. As an interim measure, pending the formulation and issuance of the necessary rules and regulations, the Court issued the following enforceable directions for the implementation of turtle conservation measures:

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“I. National Nodal Officer to provide policy guidance, planning support and coordination: Director, Wildlife Preservation, MoEF&CC as the National Nodal Officer. The National Nodal Officer shall be made responsible for coordinating with all States/UTs, providing technical guidance, and placing consolidated reports of action taken by the States/UTs before this Hon'ble Court.

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II. Constitution of State & UT Coordination

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Committees:

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(1) States and UTs shall expeditiously constitute their respective State/UT Coordination Committees within a period of six weeks.

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(2) Each Coordination Committee shall be headed by the Chief Wildlife Warden and will function as a State-level institutional mechanism for sea turtle conservation. Coordination Committee shall include the following representatives from key stakeholders to ensure comprehensive monitoring and enforcement:

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a) One Senior Officer from the Fisheries Department

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b) One Senior Officer from the Forest Department

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c) One Senior Officer from the Coastal Security Group

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d) One Senior Officer from the Coast Guard

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e) One representative from the Trawl Fishers Welfare Association

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f) Two representatives from artisanal/traditional fishing communities g) Two members from NGOs with at least five years of active work in turtle conservation

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h) One expert or wildlife conservationist with experience in marine conservation

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i) A Fisheries Scientist of appropriate expertise from the National Fisheries Research Institutions

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III. Formulation & Implementation of State-specific Standard Operating Procedure (SOP):

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(1) After the constitution and convening of the State and UT Coordination Committees, the Committees will immediately undertake the following:

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a) Formulate and implement a State-specific Standard Operating Procedure ("SOP") for sea turtle conservation, addressing the principal causes of turtle mortality, including, (i) use of trawlers and trawl nets, (ii) entanglement in non-trawl nets such as gill nets and nets set for ray fish or other banned nets, (iii) poaching of eggs, (iv) death of hatchlings along the shore, and (v) loss of nesting grounds.

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b) Implement all directions specifically sought in the Amicus Report as well as the SOP formulated by the Committee as described above in paragraph 6(a).

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c) Submit bi-annual reports to the Nodal Officer regarding the effective implementation of the SOPs to enhance transparency and accountability.

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d) Maintain a minimum uniform standard of care and protection for sea turtles across the States and UTs, irrespective of other governmental schemes/initiatives/ plans that may be in place. or executive

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e) Record, analyse and compile all relevant data, statistics and field reports for use at both Central and State levels to8 formulate better policies, regulations and conservation strategies over time.

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IV. Monitoring, Reporting and Action Taken

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Framework

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(1) The Coordination Committees shall meet regularly and shall undertake periodic monitoring of conservation measures. The Coordination Committees of each State /UT shall submit a detailed Action Taken Report ("ATR") to the National Nodal Officer within 3 months from the date of constitution of the Coordination Committee, and every 6 months thereafter.

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(2) The ATRs shall include information on:

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a) implementation of the SOP;

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b) enforcement measures;

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c) monitoring of fishing practices;

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d) implementation and installation of TEDs where mandatory;

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e) data on nesting, mortality and beach conditions; and f) any emergent issues requiring central guidance. ”

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10) The judgment further has discussed about the procurement and installation of TEDs, as it has referred to the proposal from the coastal states seeking financial support from the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana ( PMMSY ). In furtherance of the financial support for providing TEDs, the Government of India had issued a Notification dated 05.10.2025, approving budgetary allocation of Rs.57,72,63,000/- with a share of the Central Government being Rs.34,64,00,000/-.

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11) The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India has already directed the States and Union Territories to ensure the timely and effective implementation, installation, and operationalization of a

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minimum of 50% of TEDs within the prescribed period of 12 months, as contemplated under the Notification dated 05.10.2025 and to endeavour to achieve 100% implementation, installation, and operationalization of TEDs within the said period of 12 months.

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12) Additionally, the Memorandum dated 28.01.2026 was issued by the Director of Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare Department, State of Tamil Nadu, pursuant to the directions of the National Green Tribunal, Southern Zone Bench, to regulate light and sound disturbances along the coast during the turtle nesting season (January to April). The said Memorandum mandates strict implementation of the following measures in coastal areas identified as turtle nesting and hatching sites:

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“ 1. Switching off or minimising all non-essential street lights, high-mast lights, decorative lights, and floodlights facing the seashore during night hours throughout the nesting and hatching season (January-April).

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Prohibiting the use of loudspeakers, sound systems, public address systems, music events, and other noisegenerating activities along the coastal stretches during night hours in the nesting season.

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Ensuring that no temporary lighting arrangements or sound systems are permitted on beaches or coastal roads adjoining sea turtle nesting areas.

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Sensitising local body officials, elected representatives, coastal residents and commercial establishments regarding the importance of reducing light and sound pollution for the protection of sea turtles. ”

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13) The State of Andhra Pradesh, which was impleaded at a later stage, has filed a report dated 05.02.2025 through the Commissioner of Fisheries, Andhra Pradesh. The report states that the State is regularly creating awareness among marine fishers, in coordination with the Forest Department, Marine Police, Coast Guard and local NGOs, regarding the importance of Olive Ridley turtles in the marine ecosystem. The Department of Fisheries, Andhra Pradesh, is said to be assisting the Forest Department for collecting the eggs of turtles and to keep them in safe place for hatching during the breeding seasons of the turtles.

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14) Learned counsel appearing for the State of Tamil Nadu brought to our knowledge that the Government of Tamil Nadu has laid the foundation for the first Sea Turtle Conservation Centre in Chennai, which will be crucial for marine turtle nesting habitats in

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the country, particularly for Olive Ridley turtles. The said Centre will have dedicated infrastructure to cater to various needs, including scientific research, telemetry, monitoring, centralized data management, training, and capacity building. The Government has also undertaken large-scale night patrolling during the nesting season and sensitization of fishermen in this regard. This includes the distribution of TEDs, which would reduce incidental turtle mortality.

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15) In light of the reports submitted by the State of Tamil Nadu and the State of Andhra Pradesh, it would be appropriate to direct the authorities to strictly comply with the directions issued by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in Civil Appeal No.288 of 2021 [Arnav Sinha vs. The State of West Bengal & Ors.] and to adhere to the SOPs, Government Orders, and memoranda issued in this regard, so as to ensure that there are no further deaths of the endangered Olive Ridley turtles.

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16) With the above directions, the Original Application [O.A. No.13 of 2025 (SZ)] is disposed of.

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Sd/-

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Smt. Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana, JM

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Sd/Dr. Prashant Gargava, EM

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Internet – Yes/No All India NGT Reporter – Yes/No

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O.A. No.13/2025 (SZ) 17^th February, 2026. Mn.

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News Item Titled Experts Are Alarmed as 350 Turtles Was Ashore Dead Till January 15 Published in the Newspaper the New Indian Express Chennai E Edition Dated 16 01 2025 v. Union of India through the Secretary Ministry of Environment and Forest

Case brief

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News Item Titled Experts Are Alarmed as 350 Turtles Was Ashore Dead Till January 15 Published in the Newspaper the New Indian Express Chennai E Edition Dated 16 01 2025 v. Union of India through the Secretary Ministry of Environment and Forest

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