| Date |
Title |
 19 Feb 2010 |
Turtles on the loose ... What have they become? |
| Intro : Bycatch is one of many threats to large marine vertebrates that reach late maturity and have low reproductive rates, among which figure marine turtles. Marine turtles are often found entangled or hooked in the fishing gear, and in some cases still alive when captured. However their mortality following their release back to sea by fishermen is not well determined.
Some fishing gears have been modified (TED, circle hook etc.) in order to reduce bycatch. Yet, not all countries use them and the numbers of turtles estimated to die because of bycatch is still alarmingly high. In 2000, the number of loggerhead and leatherback turtles accidentally caught was estimated respectively at 200,000 and 50,000 worldwide (Lewison et al., 2004). |
| 11 Feb 2010 |
Survey of Bangladesh turtle meat trade |
| Intro : The following report is from the Centre for Advanced Research in Natural Resources & Management (CARINAM) which has been conducting a survey on the status of critically endangered turtles of Bangladesh.
During the survey they found that Olive ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea – Local name: Jolpai kochhop) are collected by fishermen fishing in the Sunderbans and are sold to beparis in local markets such as Bajua, adjacent to the Dangmari Forest Beat Office. From Bajua Bazaar local traders (forias) buy the turtles, slaughter them and sell the meat in Bajua, Podderganj, and Digraj weekly markets. |
| 8 Feb 2010 |
Update on the SWIOFP (Marine Turtle) Component 5 |
| Intro : In 2000, countries bordering the Western Indian Ocean requested assistance in the management of the living resources and associated habitats of their shared marine ecosystems. In response, the World Bank initiated under the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) the development of a multi-national fisheries management and development programme called the South West Indian Ocean Fisheries Project (SWIOFP).
This regional project which includes nine countries – Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Tanzania, South Africa, and La Réunion (France) – officially started in July 2008. One of its components, number 5, is related to non-consumptive resources such as marine turtles in the WIO. |
| 3 Feb 2010 |
Les Tortues Marines en France Métropolitaine et d’Outre Mer |
| Intro : A first-ever gathering of turtle practitioners from French territories all around the world was organised in Paris at the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (National Museum of Natural History) from 20-22 January, under the banner « Bilan et perspectives des programmes de recherche et de conservation ».
Participants hailed from familiar territories in the Indian Ocean, such as La Réunion, and extended as far afield as Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon (close to eastern Canada) and French Polynesia, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Indeed, the wide geographic coverage was among the meeting’s strengths. The exclusive focus on French-speaking territories permitted more in-depth presentation and discussion than would normally happen in a large international gathering. |
| 7 Jan 2010 |
NOAA proposes critical habitat revisions for leatherback sea turtles |
| Intro : NOAA’s Fisheries Service is seeking public comment on a proposed rule to expand critical habitat for the endangered leatherback sea turtle by designating more than 70,000 square miles in three areas in the Pacific Ocean off the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington.
Every summer and fall, Pacific leatherbacks migrate from their nesting beaches in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu to forage for jellyfish in waters off the U.S. West Coast. The proposed designation would therefore complement conservation actions undertaken in the Western Pacific. |
| 5 Jan 2010 |
Monitoring, tagging and conservation of marine turtles in Mozambique |
| Intro : Cristina Louro (Grupo de Trabalho Tartarugas Marinhas - Mocambique) has kindly forwarded a report on marine turtle conservation activities in Mozambique, prepared by Marcos Pereira, Eduardo Videira and Dalila Naraneby on behalf of the ‘Associacao para Investigacao Costeira e Marinha’ (AICM).
Marine turtle nesting data are presented for the 2008/09 season. A total of 626 nests were reported, with the majority (68.2%) of them being laid in southern Mozambique (Bazaruto Archipelago – Ponta do Ouro). The loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) was dominant in terms of number of nests (356), followed by the green turtle (Chelonia mydas, 189 nests) and the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea, 63 nests). |
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