Marine
turtles have been studied for many years
to improve knowledge about their distribution,
abundance, biology, ecology and behaviour.
All these scientific approaches are implemented
in the global aim of drawing-up adapted
conservation plans for these endangered
species. However, for such large migratory
and trans-boundaries species, regional
cooperation and exchange of information
for global scale assessments and conservation
strategies are fundamental.
Since 1972, Ifremer, joined by Kélonia
in 1997, has collaborated with countries
in the Southwest Indian Ocean (SWIO) through
scientific programs on marine turtles. More »
FROM THE SECRETARIAT
This month's Secretariat news will be
rather brief, as our normal routine was
interrupted in January by mission travel
and annual leave. Nonetheless, preparations
are well in hand for the IOSEA strategic
planning session to be held in Brisbane,
from 13-14 February; followed by active
participation in the International Sea
Turtle Symposium and various side meetings.
Please check out the updated Species
Overview section of the website, whose
content has been substantially improved.
We hope that readers will also take the
time to review the Profile of the Month
for February, entitled: "Satellite
Tracking - Estimated potential not yet
realised?" (to coin a popular
teacher's phrase from secondary school).
The article provides plenty of food for
thought about the increasing use of this
important investigative tool.
By the way, you may have noticed that
the last few Profiles have originated
from the IOSEA Secretariat (and possibly
the next one will too). This is not necessarily
because we have lots of information to
impart (though we do); but rather that
our appeals in recent months for contributions
from the readership (governmental, NGO,
IGO, individual etc) seem to have fallen
on deaf ears.
There is certainly no shortage of activity
focused on conserving marine turtles in
and around the IOSEA region, as the national
reports from Signatory States readily
demonstrate. At the risk of sounding like
a broken record: whether you are running
a government programme or an NGO project
- how about letting everyone else with
a common interest know about, and learn
from, your varied activities?
A short article with photos is all that
it takes - please drop us a line!
MONTHLY ROUND-UP: What you may have missed in January
Press Release:
Technical Workshop on Minimizing Sea Turtle Interactions
in Coastal Net Fisheries, 20-22 January 2009,
Honolulu, USA is available online at www.wpcouncil.org.
Marine
turtles have been studied for many years
to improve knowledge about their distribution,
abundance, biology, ecology and behaviour.
All these scientific approaches are implemented
in the global aim of drawing-up adapted
conservation plans for these endangered
species. However, for such large migratory
and trans-boundaries species, regional
cooperation and exchange of information
for global scale assessments and conservation
strategies are fundamental. 
