Context: Recently, mass nesting of Olive Ridley Turtles started at Odisha’s Rushikulya rookery coast.The Rushikulya rookery on the coast of Odisha in India is the largest mass nesting site for the Olive-ridley, followed by the coasts of Mexico and Costa Rica.
Background

• There are five species in Indian waters — Leatherback (Vulnerable), Loggerhead (Endangered), Hawksbill (Critically Endangered), Green (Endangered) and Olive Ridley.
• In India, sea turtles are protected under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
• The Olive ridley turtles are the smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in the world, inhabiting warm waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.
• The Olive ridley is the most numerous among the sea turtles found in India and is well known for its arribadas, or annual mass nestings when thousands of turtles migrate to the breeding ground to nest simultaneously.
• Odisha has half of the world’s Olive Ridley turtle population and 90% of India’s turtle population lives in the state. Despite that no actions have been taken for their conservation.It gets name from its olive colored carapace, which is heart-shaped and rounded

Conservation status

• The olive ridley is classified as Vulnerable according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources(IUCN) red list.
• International trade in these turtles and their products is banned under CITES Appendix I. 

Habitat: warm and tropical waters of primarily in the Pacific, Indian Ocean and  Atlantic ocean.
Threats: Habitat loss and degradation;Wildlife trade;Collection of eggs and meat for consumption;Incidental capture (by catch);Climate change;Marine pollution (including oil spills) and debris;Ingestion of marine debris that causes perforation of the digestive system and exposure to chemicals and hence death.

Nesting sites in India

• Hope Island of Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary (Andra Pradesh)
• Gahirmatha  beach (Odisha)
• Astaranga coast(Odisha)
• Beach of Rushikulya River
• Devi River mouth