Thanks to the latest advances in underwater cameras, researchers can now study sea turtle behaviors, habitat use, and fine-scale movements using an array of new technologies.

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.

Africa’s sea turtles were once among the least studied in the world, and mounting threats to their survival, such as fishing, poaching, coastal development, and pollution, still require further study and urgent attention. Today, a growing number of institutions and individuals are shedding new light on sea turtle science, and they are helping find solutions to the continent’s sea turtle and ocean conservation challenges.

During more than a decade of conservation, Vamizi’s 1,500 native residents have entirely turned away from their longstanding tradition of daily turtle consumption. Though researchers celebrated the shift as a conservation success, Interviews with local residents revealed some unsettling motivations for the change in behavior…