Flanking the central coast of the Sultanate of Oman, less than 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) offshore, the dry, rugged desert island of Masirah hosts one of the most important loggerhead turtle rookeries in the world. In 1977, the scent of a major turtle discovery in Arabia had reached the nose of the renowned Dr. Archie Carr. Soon after, a joint initiative of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and World Wildlife Fund was launched, and Dr. James Perran Ross began a pioneering project there.
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The Mediterranean Sea is a bountiful yet dangerous place for sea turtles. Characterized by beautiful natural and cultural heritage sites and by rich biodiversity, the Mediterranean is also a troubled and overexploited sea, where sea turtles have a hard time coping with high fishing pressure, gas and oil development, major cross-continental maritime traffic, beachfront and other habitat impacts, and widespread marine pollution.
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Japanese folklore tells of a fisherman, Urashima Tarō, who rescues a sea turtle from torment and sets him free. In gratitude, the turtle transports the fisherman to a mythical Dragon Palace beneath the sea, where he is welcomed by a beautiful princess. This eighth-century fable sets the cultural backdrop for modern sea turtle conservation in Japan, where community-led efforts have restored once-decimated sea turtle populations.
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Knowing where turtles are in a particular life stage is a critical first step to defining Important Turtle Areas (ITAs), and recent advances in technology are allowing scientists across the planet to begin to unravel many of the mysteries of where turtles go while at sea. One area where this technology was recently applied with great results is the Arabian region, a part of the world not well known for its sea turtles.
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The Ulithi Marine Turtle Program is a community conservation project based in Ulithi Atoll, located 115 miles northeast of Yap, Federated States of Micronesia. Green and hawksbill turtles forage and nest here, and play an important part of the local culture, revered by the Ulithian people and carefully managed to this day by tribal law and age-old tradition.
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In the Pacific Ocean, leatherback turtles routinely make epic journeys of tens of thousands of miles between tropical breeding areas and frigid-water feeding areas. A newly completed, multiyear satellite tracking study provides the best picture yet of the jaw-dropping migratory abilities of these animals.
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Threats to the oceans are also particularly threatening to the way of life for Pacific Islanders; indeed, the changes jeopardize the very existence of some Pacific Island nations. Addressing the extensive threats to the health of the Pacific Ocean and of those who depend upon it most directly requires immediate, collective, and concerted action at a large scale.
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Bycatch in Japanese pound nets represents a major obstacle to the recovery of the endangered North Pacific loggerhead population. Taking advantage of trapped loggerheads’ tendency to search the roof of pound nets, Japanese researchers devised a creative solution to help decrease turtle mortality in this type of fishing gear.
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