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Coastal East Africa
Projects - Tracking Sea Turtles in Kenya to Ensure their Survival
Unsuccessful attempt to rescue a leatherback turtle caught in fishing net. This turtle entangled itself accidentally in the net and drowned as a result. Help came too late. It is crucial to know through satellite tags where turtles swim, so that we can work to rescue them in time
© WWF-Canon /Michel Gunther
Update from the Field #1 - Turtle Species Conservation in Kiunga begins!
Sea turtles face a number of threats ranging from poaching and fishing to natural predation. People kill turtles for their eggs, shells, oil and meat. Fisheries also impact turtles – including unsustainable long lines, gill nets and trawls. The WWF Kiunga project on the coast of Kenya works to protect sea turtles at sea and on nesting beaches in Kiunga Marine National Reserve (KMNR) – the most important marine turtle nesting ground in Kenya.
All of the five species of sea turtles that occur in the Indian Ocean are found in KMNR - the green turtle, hawksbill, olive ridley, loggerhead and leatherback. Sea turtles depend on the seagrass beds, corals and beaches in KMNR for feeding and nesting. The green turtle is the most predominant species in the reserve and forages, mates and nests there.
WWF staff Hashim, Philipp and Mohamed check the depth of a recently laid nest discovered as Ibrahim Ali, a turtle volunteer from Mkokoni village, observes.
© WWF / Caroline Simmonds
Current Work
For 10 years, WWF has been monitoring and protecting nesting sea turtles in KMNR. Females are tagged with metal tags affixed to their flippers and recorded by field staff to monitor how many times the females lay each season and each year. 70 percent of nests are currently found and reported to WWF staff by turtle volunteers – members of the local community. Volunteers tell WWF where the nests are and together they find and mark them on the beach. Due to our efforts, there are about 10,000 successful hatchlings per year. However, currently there are large gaps in our knowledge, including where turtles feed and live when they are not nesting, where they migrate to in the Indian Ocean, what threats they face, and how WWF can work to mitigate such threats.
The science of satellite telemetry – affixing small satellite transmitters onto the back of a turtle to record location and dive information – is WWF’s answer. During the 2008 turtle nesting season, WWF's KMNR staff will fit 10 GPS satellite transmitters onto selected marine turtles to gain information on migratory patterns and identify inter-nesting habitats. Tracking the migratory patterns of turtles to where they feed and live will provide crucial information that will guide our management interventions to save these majestic and mysterious creatures.
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