Born Free

Category: Sea Sense | Date: Jul 28 2008 | By: bornfree

This week we are in the office in Dar updating our turtle nest and mortality databases and entering data from the gillnet bycatch survey into the computer for analysis. The end of the nesting season is coming up and only 3 new nests were recorded along the 65 km long stretch of beach south of Dar. In Mafia Island, the main nesting area in Tanzania, we are still recording about 30 nests a month which is great.

Despite a recent awareness campaign to stop illegal dynamite fishing, which destroys corals, fish stocks and poses a real danger to fishers, dynamiting continues. Only last week we saw 4 blasts just off an important turtle nesting beach. Limited enforcement is a major factor in its continued practice and a great disappointment to those of us trying to protect the marine environment. We set up a dynamite fishing monitoring network two years ago and are now looking at the number of blasts recorded over time to see whether the recent campaign has had any positive impact. I hope the results will be encouraging.

Next week we are spending a few days on a small protected turtle nesting island just off Dar es Salaam called Sinda to do some training with the rangers there as well as members of a local NGO group called Kigamboni Youth Group.

Thanks, Catharine