Kategorie: News
Turtle Foundation informs about the Cape Verde programme
This year's nesting season of the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) is coming to an end at the Turtle Foundation's long-term partner Fundação Tartaruga on the Cape Verdean island of Boa Vista. A good moment to reflect on the year..
Although the numbers will be nowhere near the nesting numbers of the record year 2021, 3,988 nests have been counted so far, 210 of which have been transferred to two guarded hatcheries. But the season is not over yet. The whole team is hoping that a few more nests will be added by the end of October. Did you know? You can check the current status of the nests and hatchlings on the project page "Turtle Foundation Boa Vista". Just follow the link to get regular updates from Boa Vista.
Tourism side effect: danger for nesting beaches
With the end of the COVID restrictions on Cape Verde, tourists have returned in addition to the volunteers. This has sometimes had serious consequences for the turtles. For example, in the course of the season, with increasing demand for turtle-watching tours, the beaches in the direct vicinity of the water were increasingly frequented by cars - regardless of established prohibited zones. The dramatic consequence: females are directly disturbed while laying their eggs and in the worst case can even be run over, nests can be destroyed and pollutants introduced into the sensitive ecosystem. Soil compaction caused by driving can also make it much more difficult for the hatchlings to hatch. Thanks to the persistent efforts of our team on the ground and urging with the responsible authorities, we got permission to block the illegal paths over the dunes with massive stones. Thus we were able to put a temporary end to the spook.
Boa Vista: General information and background
Five species of sea turtles roam the waters around the Islands of Cabo Verde: Green turtles (Chelonia mydas), Leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea), Olive Ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea), Hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata), and Loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta). Only the loggerhead turtle nests regularly on the islands. The local nesting population of loggerhead sea turtles is the third largest population in the world after the nesting populations of Oman and Southeast Florida, and is the largest nesting population in the Eastern Atlantic. It is estimated that around two thirds of the nesting activity on Cape Verde occurs on the Island of Boa Vista.
Although all species of sea turtles are officially protected under the laws of Cape Verde, they are heavily exposed to multiple anthropogenic threats. The primary threat is the slaughter of female loggerheads when they come ashore to nest The vulnerability of the turtles on land in combination with the easy accessibility of the nesting beaches, rapid increase of the local population since the early 2000s, and the lack of will and/or capability to enforce existing laws by the authorities further exacerbated the problem.
The slaughter is particularly brutal and cruel
The slaughter is particularly brutal and cruel, with turtles sliced open to remove meat and internal organs while still alive. This is usually done before the females even nest, thus killing all her progeny as well. Additional threats include the destruction of their nesting beaches by uncontrolled construction as part of rapid tourism development, nest poaching, trash accumulation in the water and on the beaches, targeted catch and by-catch of turtles at sea, and boat collisions. This situation has resulted in the United Nations Environment Program identifying Cape Verde as the conservation priority for loggerhead turtles (UNEP, 2002). Read more … www.turtle-foundation.org/boa-vista/
More information about Turtle Foundation
https://www.turtle-foundation.org/en/
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Sea turtles critically endangered