Kategorie: News
Six of the seven existing species of sea turtles critically endangered
In early September, the International Congress of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) was held in Marseille, France. One of the main topics this year was restoring the health of the oceans. Sea turtle habitat has been severely impacted in recent decades by a variety of human impacts: Littering, industrial fishing, climate change and other factors are increasingly throwing the marine ecosystem out of balance.
However, the IUCN also publishes the well-known international Red List of endangered animal and plant species. Currently, six of the seven existing species of sea turtles are listed there in the critical categories! For the seventh species, the Australian wall reef turtle, only data for the exact classification are missing; however, scientists assume a considerable endangerment also for this species.
Sea turtles are fascinating animals that perform important tasks in the battered ecosystems of the oceans. They must not be allowed to become extinct. With your help, the Turtle Foundation is currently protecting five species of sea turtles in its projects in Indonesia and on the Cape Verdean island of Boa Vista.
Poaching on Boa Vista
On August 18, heavy rains occurred on Boa Vista. After a long period of drought, the rain was eagerly awaited by the people, but it was not a good day for the turtles nesting there. Due to the water masses flowing from the mountains over the beaches into the sea, some important beach sections were no longer accessible from our camps. Unfortunately, this did not go unnoticed by the local poachers and they made their way via another route to the temporarily unprotected beach of Cruz do Morto. After the rain subsided, our ranger patrol found the remains of three poached turtles there!
But there is also good news: Despite isolated setbacks, this nesting season's numbers of verified poaching incidents still remain low compared to past years. In addition, there is a great success of the "Sea Turtle Surveillance Task Force", an initiative of the local conservation authority DNA, whose activity is supported by the Turtle Foundation with a night vision drone and species protection dog team: At the end of August, two turtle poachers were caught in the act on a beach near the island's capital Sal Rei by the task force's drone team and arrested by the police who were called in. During the subsequent search of the crime scene with the conservation dogs, a bloody knife was found as further evidence. The perpetrators have since been sentenced to fines in the local court. A spectacular milestone for the application of new techniques to protect endangered sea turtles on Boa Vista!
About the Turtle Foundation
The Turtle Foundation thrives on the support of all of us. Donations are the basis for all Turtle Foundation projects to fight the endangerment and extinction of these wonderful creatures. Sponsorships of turtles are also possible - if you are interested, please contact: info@turtle-foundation.org ( www.turtle-foundation.org )
Please note that the old donation account of the Turtle Foundation (DE90 7005 4306 0055 5155 55) will be closed at the end of the year. The IBAN of the current donation account at GLS Bank is: DE48 4306 0967 1085 9361 00.
Thank you very much for your donation!