Workshop on sea turtle conservation techniques by Biosfera

This post was first published on Biosfera. It is posted here with the permission of the authors.

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Sea turtles are prehistoric reptiles that have inhabited the Earth for over 100 million years, playing a vital role in marine ecosystems. There are currently 7 species of sea turtles that depend on coastal and terrestrial habitats for their life cycle.

Human activities have had a devastating impact on the survival of these reptiles, with almost all species classified as “Endangered” by the IUCN Red List. These dangers range from poaching of adults, hatchlings and eggs to overexploitation of their populations. They also face habitat loss, death in fishing nets, pollution, and climate change that has abnormally altered the ratio of males to females. Sadly estimates are that only 1 in 1000 or 10000 turtles survive to adulthood.

In anticipation of the new Sea Turtle season and in order to better prepare marine technicians, volunteers and others involved in this environmental cause, Biosfera held a workshop on Sea Turtle Conservation Techniques.

This four day training took place in the Technical School of Mindelo auditorium in partnership with the Queen Mary University of London, who led not only theoretical sessions, but also field practice lessons.

The workshop was taught to fifty participants that ranged from themes of Ecology and Biology to Legislation, Conservation Methodologies, Ecotourism as a Conservation Tool, among others. There were diverse groups and associations that work in turtle conservation both in São Vicente Island as well as in the islands of Santo Antão and São Nicolau invited.

There was a great interest from the trainees and Biosfera strongly believe they have successfully managed to pass on information that they will be able to put into practice in the upcoming Sea Turtle season.