World Turtle News, 04/11/2019

Meet The Man Helping Save Endangered Turtles In The Maldives

Martin Stelfox, biologist and founder of The Olive Ridley Project, made a discovery in the Maldives that set him on a path to rescue some of the most endangered turtles in the world.

After spending over 15 years working on marine conservation projects all over the globe, in 2012 biologist Martin Stelfox landed himself a job in one of the most idyllic places on earth – the Maldives (no, he couldnโ€™t believe his luck either).

All tropical paradise, baby powder-soft beaches and swaying palm trees? You bet! However, Stelfox quickly noticed how many sea turtles were drifting into the Maldives completely entangled in ghost nets – these are fishing nets that have been left or lost in the ocean by fishermen.

โ€œAs a biologist I was curious as to why this was happening given the fact that the Maldives do not generally use nets, rather, pole and line dominate the fisheries in the country.โ€ He also noticed that it was the olive ridley turtles that were the species mostly found caught in the nets, which he thought was bizarre given that the species of turtles donโ€™t typically nest in this part of the world.

Click the link to read more…

Turtle News From Around the World

Conservation

Nicaragua:- Leatherback turtles absent from Chacocente for the first time

Australia:- Pet dogs put their noses to good use by sniffing out endangered broad-shelled turtle nests

Education

USA:- Longboat Key to host two turtle lighting workshops

USA:- Turtle Watch volunteers ready for season

Miscellany

Cyprus:- Former volunteer for Marine Turtle Conservtion Project fundraising to save sea turtles

TheTurtleRoom is looking for several individuals passionate about turtle conservation to join our volunteer staff team in a variety of specific roles! Two of these openings relate directly to this World Turtle News blog feature. We also have several other opportunities available for a variety of talents. Please check out this page for more details on each position, the requirements, and responsibilities. We look forward to hearing from you.

Question or Concerns? Want to submit an article to get posted? Email us at [email protected].

Photo from Pro Divers.

WTN Editor

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Shopping Cart
Scroll to Top