restoration and rehabilitation

INITIATIVES
GOA COASTLINE
RESTORATION & REHABILITATION
Have you found a stranded animal? Contact us/ report (Whatsapp or SMS) to Helpline +91 9370524408
Marine Megafauna Stranding Response Network

The Ocean Watch network in Goa is a unique one. Established in 2017, it is a collaborative public-private partnership set up by Terra Conscious, Goa State Forest Department and Drishti Marine Services. The network has trained lifeguards all along the coast to handle stranded sea turtles and cetaceans (dolphins, porpoises and whales) and collect data for the same. It is a robust network of concerned citizens working together to save Goa’s marine denizens.

The number of stranded animals recorded by this network is immense, with over 400 cases reported in the first 5 years. The next step was to incorporate a veterinary component to address the injuries and diseases suffered by the stranded animals. In 2021, ReefWatch began providing veterinary support to the network, conducting necropsies, collecting samples, and creating a protocol for the treatment of stranded marine megafauna. From the period of March 2021 to March 2024, our team has conducted over 200 post-mortems and gut analyses on turtles, dolphins and pelagic birds and handled 272 cases of live strandings across the state.

This network is particularly active l during the monsoon period. The highest number of strandings are reported in June, most of them live sea turtles with injuries. Many turtles were observed to have injuries potentially caused by ghost nets, such as cut and severed flippers.

A few were washed ashore while caught in a net and had to be freed by rescuers. Some cases even demonstrated the presence of parasites in turtles, causing severe weakness, if not death, of the animal. One of the most startling revelations has been the finding of a bundled fishing net in the gut of some dolphins. Although the dolphins are able to survive for quite a while in this state, the presence of these nets in the animal’s stomach is likely to cause impaction and prolonged starvation.

This is only the first step in understanding the anthropogenic effects on marine life. Each case provides us with an indication of what might be causing illness and death amongst these animals. Over time, this data will provide useful insights into the state of our oceans and present potential avenues for more research and intervention.

Antibiotic Resistance Project

Many marine megafauna migrate around the world and therefore come into contact with several hazardous substances due to anthropogenic activities such as waste disposal, trawlling etc. It is therefore highly imperative to know if such activities affect them on a microbial level. 

Through our experience with providing veterinary treatment to these animals, we have found several resistant to standard antibiotics. Therefore, we have initiated a research project with the aim of 

  • Using Antibiotic sensitivity testing as a diagnostic tool for live stranded animals.
  • Formulating a suggested mode of treatment for wildlife veterinary practices.
  • Establishing baseline data about the antibiotic sensitivity of microbial organisms in sea turtles

We collect samples from the respiratory and digestive tracts of live and dead marine megafauna, the samples are cultured and screened for identification using various microbiological tests. 

The results from this data can provide crucial information on the causes of death and increase in death rates of marine megafauna as well as assist in creating standard veterinary treatment protocols for strandings. Moreover, this research can support future conservation efforts and action plans for protecting marine megafauna in Indian waters. 

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We are an Indian Not For Profit, established in1993 as a Public Charitable Trust, committed to the conservation of marine & coastal biodiversity.

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