01/03/2006 - March 1 marks
the official start of the Year of the Marine
Turtle within the Indian Ocean and South-East
Asian region.
Today, six of the seven species of marine
turtle — hawksbill, olive ridley, Kemp's
ridley, leatherback, loggerhead and green
— are classified as “Endangered” or “Critically
Endangered”.
"Concerted conservation efforts have
seen turtle populations recover in some
areas, but without urgent global action
the future of these animals looks increasingly
grim," said Dr Sue Lieberman, Director
of WWF's Global Species Programme.
Marine turtles have swum in the world’s
oceans for over 100 million years. They
are the only widely distributed marine reptiles
and many species migrate for thousands of
kilometres — and even across entire oceans
— between feeding and nesting grounds. Regional
cooperation is essential to ensure that
turtles are protected at different stages
in their life cycles.
Marine turtles have also been fundamental
to the culture of coastal societies for
millennia.
“Human activities over the past 200 years
have massively tipped the scales against
the survival of these ancient mariners,”
says Elisabeth McLellan, WWF Asia Pacific
Marine Turtle Coordinator.
“Slaughtered in the thousands for their
eggs, meat, skin, and shells, they suffer
from poaching and over-exploitation, as
well as from capture in fishing gear and
habitat loss. But there are places where
concerted conservation efforts are making
a difference to turtle numbers. We hope
that this initiative galvanises countries
to act together before it’s too late.”
Fiji has already joined the "Year
of the Turtle" event with a renewed
effort to protect endangered sea turtles
within the country's waters. Fiji currently
has a five- year moratorium which bans the
commercial harvest and sale of sea turtles,
but the sale and consumption of turtle meat
is still common.
“Over the course of the year we will work
towards creating nation-wide awareness on
the threats to turtles and we will work
with partners to undertake actions to protect
our ancient mariners,” said Etika Rupeni,
WWF Fiji Programme Country Manager.
Other WWF activities to mark the Year of
the Sea Turtle include: delcaring Derawan
Island, one of the the biggest green and
hawksbill turtle rookeries in South-East
Asia as a Marine Conservation Area; monitoring
and protecting nesting sites in and around
Kenya's Kiunga Marine National Reserve;
satellite tagging of marine turtles in Vietnam;
intorducing circle hooks to tuna fleets
in the Philippines to significantly reduce
turtle bycatch; and establishing a joint
research partnership (between Madagascar,
Switzerland and France) on marine turtles
in the South-West Indian Ocean.
END NOTES:
• The Year of the Turtle is organized by
the the Indian Ocean South-East Asian (IOSEA)
Marine Turtle Memorandum of Undestanding.
IOSEA is an intergovernmental agreement
that aims to protect, conserve, replenish
and recover marine turtles and their habitats
of the Indian Ocean and South-East Asian
region, working in partnership with other
relevant actors and organisations.
• Countries involved in the IOSEA Year
of the Marine Turtle include: Australia,
Bangladesh, Cambodia, Comores, Eritrea,
Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kenya, Madagascar,
Mauritius, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines,
Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, South Africa,
Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Kingdom, Tanzania,
United States of America and Vietnam.
