According to sea turtle literature from India and Indian Ocean area, of the world’s seven species of sea turtles, five are known to inhabit Indian coastal waters, its Bay Islands, Lakshadweep, etc. Except for the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), the remaining four species nest along the Indian coastline1. All these five species are legally protected under the Indian Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, and included in Appendix I of the CITES (Convention on International Trade of Endangered Flora and Fauna). Although the major nesting site of the loggerhead turtle is in the north-west Indian Ocean, this species was only occasionally recorded in these waters2. Except for the few observations of loggerheads in the Gulf of Mannar (GOM) between India and Sri Lanka3,4, Caretta caretta seems conspicuously absent from the northern Indian Ocean.