SOS Tartarugas/Turtle SOS Cabo Verde

Shark specialist needed

2011-12-12T07:52:00.001-02:00

We are looking for someone with experience of working with sharks. See our job blog for more information.

Ecotourism could save turtles in Cabo Verde

2011-12-12T06:35:00.001-02:00

In an article published in national newspaper, Expresso das Ilhas, our colleagues Natura 2000, who work in Boa Vista, suggest that the problems of hunting of turtles could be solved through ecotourism and the development of the country. The full article can be read here.

First cruise ship passengers to visit Sal love turtles!

2011-12-04T06:37:00.001-02:00

On Thursday 1 December we were very pleased to be invited to give a lecture on the Island Sky the first cruise ship to dock in Sal since the port at Palmeira was extended.

The small (for a cruise ship anyway) ship, operated by Noble Caledonia has a capacity of only 114 passengers and the majority of the 80 or so on board came to hear about the turtles in Sal.

The presentation covered biology and life cycle, threats to turtles worldwide as well as information about the situation on Sal and the rest of Cape Verde.

The cruise shippers were a wonderful audience, asking lots of great questions and they were obviously moved by the plight of the turtles, with one guest even suggesting that they make a collection to help the cause.

Naturalist Guy, Cruise Director Andrea, the Captain & Emma

It was a great night for our small team that still remains and it was hard to leave the ship as they set sail for the Ascension Islands directly after the talk. I think we can safely say there are lots more turtle advocates after that night!

Turtle freed from fishing debris on Sal

2011-11-24T05:48:00.001-02:00

If ever there was a prime example of the problems faced by marine life from fishing debris being thrown overboard or cut loose by fishermen, this is one.

The vast majority of the rubbish that we collect on the east coast of Sal is discarded fishing line and plastic items such as bottles and other containers that are used as floats by fishermen. Turtles and other animals get entangled in this rubbish as it drifts through our oceans and without a good Samaritan to free them have little hope of surviving.

This turtle was found by chance on the rocks near Igrijinha last week as a holidaymaker called Judith passed by. The net was entangled in her back flippers and the plastic container made it impossible for her to dive or swim, she had been thrown up on the rocks by the waves. Fortunately Judith was able to remove the net and floats and stressed and tired the poor turtle managed to crawl across the rocks until a big wave came and took her out to sea.

This turtle is not our usual loggerhead which nests here, but is a juvenile Olive Ridley, a type of turtle that we don't get to see very often but is present in the sea around Sal.

Really nice work, Judith!

The season's not over yet!

2011-11-16T07:20:00.001-02:00

The last excavation in the hatchery ended in a spectacular way when Nest 91 started hatching as soon as we arrive. To the delight of the large crowd 38 babies spilled out of the sand, making a total of 67 hatchlings born in total (29 during the night) - an excellent success rate of 80%.

It's not over yet though, we still have around 130 nests on the beaches of Sal, on Costa Fragata and Serra Negra, so the Rangers will continue their patrols, making sure the hatchlings get to the sea safely and collecting data that will help to improve our success rate.

The last nest is on Costa Fragata and will have incubated for 57 days on the 23 December so there is a good chance of baby turtles for Christmas!

Beach clean this Sunday

2011-11-11T07:25:00.001-02:00

Following last month's great clean on Costa Fragata, the next beach to get some attention is Serra Negra. The rubbish in the last few weeks has got out of control, mostly from plastic and fishing net that has drifted in with the big tides, but sadly there are also several big piles of beer bottles from party goers. facebook event

Join us if you can Sunday from 8am until some time after lunch (including some time to swim, eat, relax). If you need help with transport just send us an email info@turtlesos.org or call 974 5020.

Fisherman tries to sell live turtle in Santa Maria

2011-11-05T05:39:00.000-02:00

Thank goodness for the ears and eyes of friends of the project - through good luck we were able to return this juvenile turtle to the sea and save it from an unknown fate. A local tour guide saw a quite well known man carrying the turtle around the streets of the town close to the pier, trying to sell it. Initially he refused to give it up, but after the tour guide threatened him with the police, the turtle was handed over and finally given to two of our Rangers.

Years ago this kind of thing was common as well as kids selling hatchlings to tourists, but now we are happy that there are many more people who want to save the turtles and will make a stand when they see wrongdoing.

Happily the turtle was fit and well (apart from a missing rear flipper which shouldn't hinder it) and the minute it was in the water it took off so fast we didn't even see it go!

Conservation efforts on Maio

2011-10-29T10:06:00.000-02:00

The all female Maio team!

A few days in Maio earlier this week filled us with hope for a good management plan for the turtles next year.

Maio has really suffered as the forgotten island in terms of turtle conservation as, despite the City Hall's programme of monitoring & guarding turtles, there has never been a consistent and well coordinated project.

This year the City Hall, ACCC (a study on climate change) & Natura 2000 all patrolled and collected data but there was no overall coordination in order to ensure consistent methodology.

Joao, a guard during 2011 explains his work

In the past few years the City Hall has paid guards from outlying villages to patrol the beaches and collect simple data (number of nests & tracks and number of turtles killed). The funds for this activity comes from the DGA (General Directorate of the Environment) and this has been supplemented with training and equipment from ourselves, Natura 2000, Biosfera I and others.

Turtle nesting beach on Maio

The situation on Maio is critical, since it is believed to be the second largest nesting area in Cape Verde, but there is very little data available. The number of turtles being killed each year on the land and in the surrounding sea is unknown but believed to be very high and the amount of nests stolen is probably the highest of any of the islands here.

To see what can be done to improve the situation, SOS Tartarugas arranged a visit which included a representative of the US Fish & Wildlife Service, a very important funder of turtle conservation in Cabo Verde. During meetings with the City Hall and the Foundation for Biodiversity in Maio, it seems as if an overall management plan can be developed and implemented in 2012.

The salina on Maio, a very important biodiversity site

The Foundation is a very important partner for SOS since they are already well integrated in the community in Maio and will be able to coordinate and communicate with all the interested groups and individuals.

Not only will this brand new foundation work in turtle protection, but they are already deeply involved in the preservation of habitat and other species on the island. One of the most important projects is research & conservation of the Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus. (For more information about this important work follow this link).

The Sogei resort with the sea on the left & salina on the right

This small bird nests on the ground following the seasonal rains and the salina on Maio is very important habitat for them. Unfortunately for the environment, development has reached Maio and the residential/hotel development is situated in a small strip of beach between the sea on the left and the salina on the right. The construction is going very slowly because few people have bought properties, however the impact on the birds and other wildlife has already been very serious.

The little scrape of sand that is a nest

The Kentish Plover nests on the ground, making a tiny scrape in the sand and is extremely vulnerable to predation. This photo shows the last remaining nest which on our visit was found to be predated.

The foundation has many difficult hurdles in their path, with not only these two species to protect, but many more and they face the prospect of the same extensive loss of habitat as here on Sal.

Click here for more photos.

Kids turn into conservationists!

2011-10-19T07:57:00.001-02:00

It is so rewarding to see the fruits of the SOS Tartarugas programme for children. Yesterday two young boys brought us a six week old hatchling that a friend of theirs was keeping in a water bottle in his house. A couple of years ago it was really common to see kids walking around selling hatchling to the tourists in Santa Maria and there are still many turtles that are kept in houses (sometimes in very poor condition).

These two lovely boys from Noz Kasa had attended the workshop with Joana and had learned that it is much better to put the turtles in the sea right away.

Maria, Albert & Berta went with the kids to wish the turtles a safe journey and afterwards they received a certificate of adoption for their turtle and even got to give it a name. They also like the Haribo reward!

Slow start but finishing strong

2011-10-14T16:12:00.000-02:00

In June we were sitting around twiddling our thumbs waiting for the turtles to make an appearance, by August we were working flat out. 2011 has definitely been the strangest year so far. We didn't know whether the late start would mean a late finish or whether it was just going to be a very low year. Turns out that the turtles decided they would stick to the end date but just get really busy in August.

It's not quite over yet, but so far we have had 200 more nests than in 2008 and 50 more than in 2010. The biggest change has been in the location of the nests - as the turtles head further north to find undisturbed beaches.

Another interesting fact is that we have had a much higher ratio of nests to tracks - 40% compared to the more usual 30%.

So far there have been 5,000 hatchlings born (2,500 in the hatchery)

Family

2011-10-04T06:46:00.003-02:00

It's nearly impossible to get every member of our family together in one place for a photo, but on Sunday we tried!

In this picture are some of the international Rangers from overseas but also our great volunteers who live in Sal.

As anyone who has worked with us knows, it is a punishing schedule, working six nights a week for four months, walking up and down the beach for hours.

The resident volunteers who dedicate one or two nights a week to patrol alongside full time Rangers and then go to work the next day fill those gaps on our rota that mean we can patrol even more beaches and save even more turtles. Not only that, but they bring a fresh enthusiasm that enlivens some very tired people! Alongside the Rangers and the volunteers we rely on our great Capeverdean contingent who find employment with us, but more than that, fight the cause by spreading the word about their work amongst their countrymen.

To those who didn't make it on Sunday (the Rangers in camp, Antonio, Steve M, the Salter family, Peter and Linda, Isabel and Vaughn, Vickey) - don't worry we'll get you sooner or later!

Nice feedback from our lovely visitors

2011-09-22T09:03:00.000-02:00

It's always great to know that your work is appreciated so here are a few emails we have received from recent visitors to Sal.

 Sent: 15 September 2011 19:02 To:Neal Clayton Subject: Re: Muckel the turtle

Thanksfor the mail ... It was really impressive to see how loving you all you careabout the turtles. It's good to know that you are. We hope to hear from youagain. Good luck and see you soon,  Wolfgang and Ilona

 Sent:18 September 2011 08:14 To: 'Neal Clayton' Subject: AW: Schildithe turtle

HelloSOS-Tartarugas-Team!

Thanks for photosand help to save our envirement. It’s a very important job for th world.

Best regards fromAustria.

Peter

 Sent:21 September 2011 10:49 To: Neal Clayton Subject: Re: Chayla theturtle

Hi Neal,   Thankyou for the email on chayla, I foward it onto my neice with same name, she is9yrs old and thinks it is awesome, Chayla took the certificate and photos toschool where her teacher showed her class, her teacher have asked Chayla ifthey could track it, she said could'nt, so he have asked Chayla and the groupon her table to do research on the turtles, I have looked on the internet andthere are so many sites, I am hoping you can recomend a site that would besuitable for Chayla's age group, thank you.   Diane

 Sent:20 September 2011 07:08 To: Neal Clayton Subject: Re: Becki theturtle

Hi Neal,  thank you very muchfor the pictures. I work in a travel agency and I will tell all my clients whogo to Cabo Verde to adopt hatchlings, too!  Have a nice day.  Best regards  Sabrina

Precious words like these help to keep the Rangers going when the work is tough and the hours are very long! Thanks everyone.

Free the quad!

2011-09-22T06:51:00.001-02:00

One of the biggest challenges of the project is reliable transport. Both in terms of our own and also finding taxi and pick up drivers who are willing to work at night (and don't fall asleep when they are supposed to be collecting people for patrol!)

During the first couple of years we relied on one quad which somehow made it through to Year 4 until it was stolen. In Year 3 this was supplemented by the purchase of an ancient Land Rover, the only thing we could afford. Big mistake. Charming it may be but reliable it isn't. It has definitely spent more time sitting rusting outside the house than actually on the road.

This year we splashed out, took out a loan and bought a pick up - second hand but still in pretty good shape. Must be us then because that has also spent an unfeasible amount of time in the garage. Since good mechanics are hard to come by each time a vehicle goes to a garage we know it is going to come back with the original problem fixed (maybe) but one or two additional problems caused by not putting it back together properly!

Innocent of all crimes but locked up in the port

The final frustration this year involves the purchase of a quad bike from the UK. Here it is pictured in April in the yard of the dealer. And that is the last time we have seen it. A normally smooth import process has been turned into a deluge of paperwork and confusion and the quad has been sitting in the dock at Palmeira since June, effectively missing the entire season for which is was bought. The problem? The quad was used on a farm in Wales and not road registered, therefore there was a suspicion that it was stolen since no papers existed from the relevant UK authority. Not only that but the dealer put the wrong chassis number on the original paperwork! Thank goodness for Cape Verde Imports's endless patience and efficiency with the process or I might really have gone mad.

Yesterday I took another (hopefully final) trip into Espargos to sign the 'last' piece of paper and now am hopeful that we may see the quad this side of Christmas. There's still a small amount of time for it to be useful!

Second wave of turtles arrives in Sal

2011-09-20T06:30:00.000-02:00

At this time of year, Week 15 of our nesting season, we are all thankful that the activity starts to die down a little, there are less hunters on the beach and we don't need to work as hard. Naturally we also have a smaller team than we would do at the peak of the season.

Not this year though! We have the decreased number of Rangers that we usually have but the amount of turtle tracks and nests has risen this week, not declined!

As you can see by the graph above, in every other year by the 18 September the line is going down. The red line, whic shows 2011 is going UP instead - we had almost a 50% increase in tracks this week compared to last.

On top of that, during the last week, we have also seen lots of untagged turtles. Normally we would expect to be seeing the same turtles that we have seen all season and have therefore already tagged.

Just goes to show that no amount of planning will ever prepare us for what the turtles have in store!

SOS participates in Sustainable Tourism Workshop

2011-09-08T09:14:00.002-02:00

What is sustainable tourism? One definition could be minimising negative impacts tourism has on the destination while maximising the benefits for the local population. Benefits could include better standards of living, employment, improvements in health care and infrastructure.

In a workshop organised by TUI and held at the RIU Funana yesterday, delegates considered whether tourism has had a negative or positive impact on Sal so far and how to improve the situation. Some of the negative impacts identified included

destruction of the environment (erosion of the main beach, aesthetic qualities lost due to construction)
increase in sexual tourism
increases in crime

Algodoeiro beach during construction of Melia Tortuga

Delegates, including the Minister for Tourism & other government officials, several associations and representatives from hotels and tour operators also considered threats to the development of tourism and what interventions could be used to limit these threats.

The Minister for Tourism opens the meeting

Almost every factor that restricts tourism on Sal seemed to come back to a combination of lack of political will and a lack of investment in infrastructure. It was agreed that there was a need for more investment in facilities such as health care, security from crime (for tourists and residents), education and training, improvements in roads and more secure supplies of water, electricity and sanitation. Time was also spent discussing the need to increase the understanding of 'service' as opposed to 'hospitality', since despite the welcome and warmth tourists receive, the service can be quite poor.

Of course on Sal, many people consider that no benefit is brought at all to the local economy and population through All Inclusive hotels.

It is hard to say if at the end of this initiative, which is being organised by TUI with The Travel Foundation, there will be any positive changes. A lot seems to hang on whether the government will take the initiative or not or whether TUI and other companies will enter into Public/Private Partnerships in order to stimulate the much needed improvements to this island.

Driving on the beach

2011-09-03T08:02:00.000-02:00

We are relatively lucky on Sal that since we started work in 2008 the majority of quad & car rental companies supported the campaign to stop driving on beaches.

Driving on any beach at any time of the year is illegal since it damages the fragile coastal and dune ecosystems. More specifically it causes problems for nesting turtles by destroying nests and compacting the sand and making it impossible for turtles to dig nests. Moreover, it creates ruts that turtle hatchlings cannot find their way out of. Even worse, during hatching season there is a real possibility of killing baby turtles by driving over them.

Killed by a quad bike driving illegally on a beach

Caboquad, based in Santa Maria have stickers on all their quads stating it is illegal to drive on beaches and there on 'No Vehicle' signs on all the beaches, yet despite that, some people choose to ignore the law.

However it is nothing compared to the wholesale disregard for this law that is happening on Boa Vista. Our colleagues from Turtle Foundation report that "guides serving the Marine Club in Sal Rei drove at least 8 cars through Curral Velho beach, destroying nests on their way to the nearby beach of João Barrosa, ironically to show nesting turtles at night time..." (Read more here)

Publicity photo from Quadland's website

It's really sad that companies such as Quadland feel no shame in actively promoting driving on the beach and thereby destroying the natural beauty of Boa Vista which is the very thing that tourists want to see.

Time for a wake up call maybe?

If you go on an excursion please object if you are taken on the beach (there are plenty of routes at the back of the beach) and report the offenders to the police or to Turtle Foundation.

Turtle Festival / Festival das Tartarugas

2011-09-02T07:43:00.000-02:00

What an amazing morning we had on Tuesday. More than 100 children and numerous adults paraded through the streets of Santa Maria in celebration of Cabo Verde's turtle heritage. One of the final events of our summer education programme, the children, who came from Santa Maria, Espargos and Palmeira, had worked hard to prepare turtle costumes to wear. The final touch was having turtle motifs painted on their faces by SOS Rangers and volunteers.

Led by Tojo and the drumming group, Raios Vermelhas everyone walked, skipped and danced through the streets much to the delight of both residents and visitors. The children also distributed information about why improper lighting affects turtles so much.

Many thanks to our partners Châ Matias, Noz Kasa and the community of Palmeira for making this such a special day.

Please follow these links for video and photos of the day:
A short video from national television RTC
Photos of the parade
Photos of the summer programme

RTC will broadcast a programme about SOS Tartarugas tonight (2nd September) at 19h.

Turtle Festival / Festival das Tartarugas

2011-08-27T06:38:00.000-02:00

The culmination of our kid's summer programme will see 100 kids parade through the streets of Santa Maria in the turtle costumes they have made.

The parade will start at 10am at the Cultural Centre accompanied by the kid's drumming group "Raios Vermelhos".

No âmbito do programa educativo “Oficinas de Verão” vai-se realizar na próxima terça-feira, dia 30 de Agosto, o Festival das Tartarugas. O Festival terá inicio pelas 10:00 h no Centro Cultural e conta com um desfile de máscaras, animação musical pelo grupo de batucada Raios Vermelhos, pinturas faciais e bancas informativas da SOS Tartarugas na praça.

Big Three is back!

2011-08-22T16:05:00.000-02:00

Big Three (tag numbers UUC830 & 831) is very special because everything about her is SUPERSIZED!

She was first seen on Costa Fragata (east coast of Sal) on the 28 August 2009 and tagged by Neal and Mariel. Then again on the same coast on 9 September (seen by João) and finally on 21 September seen by Lauren, Joe & Leah.

All of her three nests hatched well with an emergence success of 84% for the first, an incredible 94% for the second and 76% for the third.

This year she was seen on the same coast and the same section of beach on the 18 September and once again nested succesfully. How amazing would it be to know where she has been for the intervening years?

What are the BIG THREE?
1. She lays huge nests - 90 eggs, 116 eggs & 116 eggs (average 80 for other turtles)
2. Carapace length of 101cm (usual average 82cm)
3. Carapace width of 94cm (usual average 78cm)

Can't wait to see her again.

Ready for baby turtles...

2011-08-17T08:01:00.001-02:00

The cages are on the first few nests in the hatchery which means it is nearly hatchling season!

We need cages on the nest so that if they hatch while we are not there the hatchlings don't waste precious energy running around the hatchery. Rangers check the hatchery every two hours throughout the night.

The second reason is that sadly the hatchlings get eaten by both cats and dogs, so as the cats have become more adept at getting into the cages, we have also had to reinforce them with secure lids.

Nests take around 54 - 60 days to hatch, so Nest 1 could be hatching around the 21 August.

Say goodbye to turtles on the west coast of Sal?

2011-08-16T07:10:00.000-02:00

After an incredible night on Serra Negra on Saturday with 9 turtles followed by Sunday with 11 turtles we had a quick look at the data to see if this unusual amount of activity was replicated on Sal's other beaches.

Sadly, the answer was no, in fact the west coast of Algodoeioro, the area with all the new resorts had barely one track over the two nights. Turtles choose dark beaches and despite the willingness of the resorts to make some small changes to improve the situation, it may be a case of too little too late. The RIU hotel is a fine example of low impact development, it is set back from the water and has no exterior lighting visible from the beach. Unfortunately the same cannot be said further up the coast as planning permission was given for lit walkways, street lighting & exterior lights very close to the high water mark.

Lights from Paradise Beach

The sharp decline in nesting in this area is immediately obvious from the graph below. Although we will have to wait for the end of the season before knowing the final percentage of nests, it can be seen that Algodoeiro has gone from 32.9% of nests to a paltry 13.82%.

Serra Negra is the one area on Sal that suffers hardly any light pollution (although the glow from Santa Maria is starting to intrude) and so an unusual number of turtles are being forced to forgo their usual beach and head there.

No problem? Not really, because Serra Negra is a very small and narrow beach with problems of innundation and flooding - it is not really suitable for the density of nests we are seeing there now.

The return of Ryanne

2011-08-08T13:20:00.000-02:00

You may remember the upside down turtle buried near Kite Beach in the hope we wouldn't find her (see earlier blog entry). Thankfully Rangers were able to rescue her and return her to the sea.

Well we are really happy to report that she was seen safe and well again on Serra Negra on the 5th August.

She was originally tagged by Janice and adopted by the Morton family who visited us in 2009 and adopted a nest in the hatchery. They have named her Ryanne and are coming back to Cabo Verde next month (now that would be an incredible story if they saw her!)

They sent us this lovely email
"Please thank the rangers on behalf of my family for the rescue of turtle "Ryanne", just been on the blog and seen all the pics of her rescue, we are proud to be involved with the great work you all do and are looking forward to seeing you all in September."

Remember turtles, Serra Negra, the site of our permanent camp, is THE place to be for safe and happy nesting!

Turtle surprises fisherman in the middle of the day!

2011-08-04T06:00:00.000-02:00

Graciano, a resident of Santa Maria, was spending a relaxing Sunday fishing on Costa Fragata when to his great surprise he saw a turtle emerge from the water beside him! The turtle walked along the edge of the water in front of him before heading inland a few meters and proceeding to dig a nest.

Grace has a brother who lives on São Vicente, who, by happy coincidence, participated in our conservation workshop for other islands only a few weeks before. So Grace called Diolando and Diolando called us. We thought it could be a joke but no, there she was at 4pm, quite happily digging her nest and not at all disturbed by all the people surrounding her.

Grace was very happy to assist with tagging and measuring the turtle before watching her safely back into the sea. He chose to name the turtle after himself and was presented with a certificate of adoption. Hopefully we will see her nesting again and be able to give more news about her.

Grace was very happy to witness a turtle nesting for the first time and sent us this message:

"Não têm de agradecer, pois fiz aquilo que qualquer pessoa que respeita a natureza teria feito. Proteger tartarugas é um dever de todos. Para mim foi uma glória ter assistido aquilo, pois pela primeira vez tive a oportunidade de ver uma tartaruga a desovar.
Quanto ao nome, pensei em registar-lhe com a minha alcunha - "GRACE", isto porque quando a encontrei disse: - "Esta é a minha tartaruga..."

Um santo dia, e continua com "POWER" neste trabalho que para mim é um gesto nobre para com a natureza."

(Don't thank me, I did what any person who respects nature would have done. Protecting turtles is a duty for all. For me it was an honour to have witnessed it, for the first time I had the opportunity to see a turtle lay eggs.

As for the name, I thought to record it with my nickname - "GRACE", this because when I said when I saw her : - "This is my turtle ..."

A blessed day, and continue with "POWER" - to me this work is a noble gesture to nature.)

Click here for a video of Grace nesting.

Hunters vs Rangers in a battle for the turtles

2011-08-03T07:07:00.000-02:00

There is always a period during the season where hunters are out in force and the Rangers are on red alert. This year is no different.

Over the course of the last six days Rangers have saved three turtles and seen two dead turtles.

The first dead turtle was found at a beach between Kite Beach and Serra Negra, an area that does not get patrolled regularly. The police are fairly certain that they have the culprits since they left behind blood stained clothes which links them to the crime.

The second had been taken at Ponta Jelonga (near Igrijinha), a beach that we patrol all night and in the morning as well. At first we were very confused as the turtle seemed to have come ashore on the rocks and we had not seen the really obvious drag mark, but then it became clear that this was a special case. This turtle was in fact a male and had been taken at sea, landed by boat and brought ashore to be killed. Every single part of the turtle had been taken except for the carapace (shell) which is unusual. The tale, however, had been left attached and the length of it made it clear that it was not a nesting female. The turtle was 92cm, a loggerhead male in his prime.

More photos here.

The first turtle to be saved was on July 21st on Kite Beach. This turtle had been turned upside down and buried in the sand in the hope that we wouldn't find her.

Fortunately, although she was exhausted from her struggle to get up, she was otherwise unharmed and Rangers were able to get her back in the sea.

More photos here.

Another turtle was found a long, long way inland by our friend and volunteer, Nelson. The turtle had left Kite Beach and wandered inland for around 1km, almost reaching the main road! Just before she got there someone had flipped her upside down and attempted to drag her away. Fortunately Nelson was on his round island tour, found her and immediately called us. Happily, the turtle was tagged and quickly returned to the sea. How glad are we that we received a grant to buy a second hand pick-up. Without that our work would be much, much harder.

More photos here.

As if that wasn't enough, we received a call at 3.30am on Monday from the Rangers on the beach near Paradise Beach (Algodoeiro). 3.30am! When most normal people are tucked up in bed, not walking up and down the beach! A group of hunters had been apprehended. They had flipped a turtle and were about to take a turtle her back home to kill. The turtle was to be transported on the back of a donkey.

This turtle was saved and the police are going to easily trace the owner of the donkey.

It was only after she had returned to the sea that we realised that she had been interrupted while nesting. Fortunately all the eggs were safe and were relocated to the hatchery for incubation. Now the adopters of Nest 18 have a great story to tell about 'their' baby turtles!

More photos here.

This beautiful and lucky turtle has not yet been adopted. Email SOS Tartarugas if you would like to name and adopt her. You will receive a certificate and lots of information about her. Plus, when she is seen ashore again you will receive an immediate update.

Turtle Odyssey Exhibition Santa Maria & Espargos

2011-07-29T06:48:00.000-02:00

To celebrate World Day for Nature Conservation SOS Tartarugas is delighted to present the exhibition "Turtle Odyssey".

These beautifully shot photographs depict the story of the turtles struggle for survival in Cabo Verde.

The display will be at the Cultural Centre in Santa Maria until the 5th August and then in the Library in Espargos from the 16th to the 22nd August.

Thanks to our colleagues at Natura 2000 for the loan of the panels.

Using great art for social change

2011-07-28T05:59:00.000-02:00

Came across this great project which features some beautiful murals brightening towns in Cabo Verde.

Joel in Cape Verde

and connected to that a project to reduce rubbish

http://www.dolixoaoluxocaboverde.blogspot.com/

Would you believe it? Another early hatching nest!

2011-07-27T06:16:00.000-02:00

Another nest hatched on Costa Fragata on Monday night - taking us by surprise since we don't usually have baby turtles until the middle of August. If the nest incubated for the usual time this means the turtle nested in late May! A nest already hatched in June in the same area so it is always possible that it was the same early-bird turtle that laid both nests!

The indent is where the nest is

The nest hatched beautifully with every turtle emerging, but tragically EVERY hatchling came straight out of the nest and headed inland towards the lights - the entire nest was lost except for one that the Rangers managed to find exhausted and dehydrated at the back of the beach.

Sadly all the tracks go the wrong way

Even on the east coast, an area with no tourism development, the light pollution can be very bad. This nest was in a zone that is affected by large bright white, very tall security lights on the construction site of Dunas (The Resort Group).

So close to the sea but so distracted by lights

Summer Workshops for Kids

2011-07-20T12:43:00.000-02:00

Our programme for kids during the school holidays is about to start. Working with two other children's associations, Noz Kasa (in Santa Maria) and Châ Mateus (Espargos), the programme encompasses fun & educational activities related to the environment and turtles.

Both our partner associations help some of the island's poorest kids.

Newspaper article "SOS Tartarugas Summer Workshops"

Any donations of arts & crafts materials are most welcome.

Small scale fisheries have big impact on turtles

2011-07-20T10:11:00.000-02:00

A report from the University of Exeter shows that it is not only large-scale commercial fisheries that are responsible for killing turtles, smaller fishing boats also have an impact.

The study, based on Peru's fishing industry suggests that not only are thousands of turtles killed, but that they have come from nesting beaches all over the world including Australia, Costa Rica, Mexico and the Galapagos.

Senior author, Brendan Godley says
"We have known for a long time that, along with sharks, marine mammals and seabirds, marine turtles often become bycatch as a result large-scale fishing. It is only recently that we have begun to realise that small-scale fisheries may also have a significant impact on marine life. However, we were very surprised when our study revealed just how large an impact small-scale fisheries have on sea turtles."

Five years left for turtles on Sal?

2011-07-15T11:19:00.000-02:00

A little bit of controversy has been created with an article in A Semana today which states that turtles could disappear from Sal in five years time.

There are a number of inaccuracies in the article, such as the fact that hunting has increased and that there have already been turtles killed this summer - neither of these comments are true and we will be asking A Semana to correct them. In addition, the figures quoted at the end reflect what is probably a natural fluctuation in nesting on Sal.

However, it is true to state that extinction could be possible in this time frame, since Sal has a relatively small population of turtles (compared to Boa Vista for example) and they are being killed at the rate of 40-50 a year, even with increased protection.

In previous years the mortality rate could have been a lot higher and since turtles only nest every 2-3 or 4 years, we could now start to see the effects of this large-scale hunting.

Add to this the fact that almost the entire south and west coast of Sal has become unsuitable for turtles to nest due to construction and bright lights. Nesting on the west coast of Ponta Preta and Algodoeiro declined by 18% in 2010 in the areas of the new resorts (Tortuga, Dunas and Paradise Beach) and 2011 is expected to be far worse.

It's not hard to see that extinction is a very real possibility.

Read the A Semana article

Speculation about the season so far...

2011-07-11T12:21:00.000-02:00

Those who read our blog or Facebook page regularly will know that we have been experiencing an unusually low number of nests & tracks this year.

The recording of tracks on Sal is only now beginning to be more regular and the total number of nests laid at the start of July would be low even for the start of June!

Our colleagues on other islands are experiencing the same low numbers.

In Boa Vista, Natura 2000, who have been collecting data on loggerhead nesting for 13 years have told us that they have not seen this kind of low activity in all the time they have been here.

We all hope it is only a delay in the start of the season, perhaps due to the cold water around Cabo Verde right now (colder than usual) or maybe even a cold spring in the feeding grounds where the loggerheads spend their time before they come here to nest.

Fingers crossed that that is all it is and not some major disaster that has disrupted nesting in this important area.

Paulo, Holley & Betânia are delighted to find a nest on Serra Negra

Spreading the word throughout Santiago

2011-07-10T17:01:00.000-02:00

Peace Corps Volunteer Jon Berg describes his experience working with SOS Tartarugas to organise an ambitious series of workshops and events in Santiago island during the summer.

The campaign called 'Nha Terra' (My Land) is designed to inform authorities about the laws relating to turtle protection and to sensitise the people to the need to save this important part of Cabo Verde's heritage.

Read about his experiences here.

2011 Community Workshop a great success

2011-07-10T06:50:00.000-02:00

The annual workshop held on Sal to help to develop employment and skills in conservation activities on other islands finished on Thursday after an intensive four days.

The participants from Santiago, Maio, São Nicolau, São Vicente, Fogo, Santo Antão & Sal learned technical skills as well as how to structure a project in a way that could attract money to benefit their communities.

One of the participants from Santo Antão was so dedicated that he was immediately hired after being unemployed since leaving the army.

The gruelling four days included late night patrols and early morning patrols as well as theoretical sessions where delegates had a lively exchange of ideas.

The team visit the hatchery

Some had experience in turtle conservation and other environmental activities which involve youth and community development and were able to pass on their success stories. SOS Tartarugas hopes that all go home with ideas to inspire more activities.

Learning about fundraising

SOS Tartarugas will follow up this workshop with visits to each island later in the summer.

Baby turtles born two months ahead of schedule!

2011-07-08T10:22:00.000-02:00

To our great surprise SOS Tartarugas Rangers found hatchling tracks on Costa Fragata on Sal on the 30th June 2011.

Hardly believing their eyes, they uncovered the nest and found several hatchlings still inside.

In general, the nesting season starts in mid-June and the first hatchlings are born in the middle of August. For this nest to have hatched the turtle must have nested in late April or early May - two months earlier than expected! Nobody knows why this has happened but you could speculate that it could be due to the individual turtle or even to climate change.

There were 72 hatched eggs inside the nest and of those that were born many went in the wrong direction possibly due to the light of the houses from Santa Maria which disorientates turtles.

After a long search the dedicated Rangers found five more baby turtles which were lost in the dunes and these were then released into the sea.

Filhotes de tartarugas nascem 2 meses antes do tempo!

Turtles born 2 months earlier than expected!

June 29, inesperadamente, o primeiro ninho de Tartarugas Caretta caretta na praia de Costa Fragata, na Ilha do Sal.

As tartarugas nasceram de um ninho que não tinha sido identificado. De uma forma geral, a temporada de desova ocorre em meados do mês de Junho e os primeiros filhotes nascem a meio do mês de Agosto, já esta tartaruga subiu para desovar no início do mês de Maio, dois meses antes do esperado! Não sabemos a razão pela qual isto aconteceu mas poderá ter a ver com alteração de comportamento desta tartaruga em particular ou com alguma alteração no clima, no entanto não temos dados concretos que confirmem estas suspeitas.

O ninho foi detectado por Rangers da SOS Tartarugas enquanto faziam a patrulha matinal à procura de rastos de tartarugas adultas, ficando surpresos quando encontraram rastos de tartarugas bebes. Foram contabilizados 72 ovos eclodidos, 59 ovos não eclodidos e 5 nati-mortos, o que se traduz numa taxa de sucesso de 52,94%.

Os filhotes emergiram durante a noite, quando os rangers chegaram, por volta das 6 horas da manhã, detectaram inúmeros rastos, sendo que alguns iam na direcção contrária ao mar. Mais uma vez a iluminação das residências de Santa Maria provocou a desorientação dos filhotes. Após uma busca foram encontrados 5 filhotes, que andavam perdidos nas dunas, e foram libertados no mar.

SOS Rangers volunteer at dog clinic

2011-07-07T06:05:00.000-02:00

As if they didn't have enough to do, our brilliant volunteers have been spending their time off helping at the animal clinic in Santa Maria organised by SOS Cachorros & Gatos.

The clinic moves to Espargos later today.

New conservation project in Santo Antão

2011-07-05T06:31:00.000-02:00

Congratulations to Silvana Roque and her team at Projecto Vito who have started a turtle conservation project in Porto Novo, the main town on the island of Santo Antão.

Santo Antão is a mountainous, rural island, the most northerly in the archipelago. It has seen very little development and has no airport but it is known for incredible hiking and bird life.

Projecto Vito has been active in Fogo for a couple of years and their first activity in Porto Novo was a training session.

Supported by the City Hall and the Port & Maritime Delegation, the training was attended by 60 people including youth, teachers, scouts & marine police.

Community Workshop started today

2011-07-04T17:56:00.000-02:00

As part of our commitment to developing conservation activities in communities throughout Cabo Verde, the annual SOS Tartarugas Atelier (workshop) started today in Sal.

The purpose of the workshop is not only to teach technical skills but to inspire communities with ideas on fundraising, outreach and educational activities.
With the kind cooperation of the Centro Cultural in Santa Maria, the workshop began with sessions on sea turtle biology and the importance of collecting data.

Delegates work on designing data collection forms

Almost all the islands are represented with the delegates from Fogo, Santiago, Maio, São Vicente, Santo Antão, São Nicolau and of course, Sal.

Tonight the participants will camp at Serra Negra and hopefully see a nesting turtle.

SOS meets the President of Timor

2011-07-04T06:10:00.000-02:00

SOS were invited to a meeting by the President of Timor during his visit to Cabo Verde. Sr Jose Ramos-Horta funds turtle conservation in his own country and was eager to exchange ideas that may help their fledgling project.

The meeting was attended by Jacquie Cozens, Neal Clayton and Joana Gouveia and the topics ranged from how to raise money to the use of hatcheries.

Timor is situated north of Australia and was a colony of Portugal until 1975 when it was annexed by Indonesia. Following a brief rule by the UN, the country became fully independent in 2002.

The seas around Timor are extremely rich and diverse in corals and marine life and two species of turtles nest there (hawksbill & olive ridley). Thankfully the president told us that there is not a strong tradition of hunting and eating turtle and the populations are stable.

Tarrafal, São Nicolau launch turtle protection campaign

2011-07-02T06:37:00.001-02:00

The Câmara Municipal (City Hall) Tarrafal, São Nicolau launch this year's turtle protection campaign today reports A Semana. The City Hall have had great success over the last few years and have succeeded in wiping out hunting of nesting turtles on these very important beaches. A Semana article.

Kids ask everyone to recycle

2011-06-30T07:54:00.000-02:00

As part of World Ocean Day SOS Tartarugas in conjunction with Escola Kim Barbosa initiated a project to encourage recycling and the proper disposal of rubbish.

As an island, Sal has limited ways to dispose of rubbish and litter and debris is becoming an increasing problem as both a health hazard and an eyesore.

The kids at the school in Santa Maria made rubbish bins from found materials and decorated them with environmental themes. The children demonstrated great creativity and understanding of the problem. The bins are on display in the Cultural Centre in Santa Maria this week and will move to the Library in Espargos next week.

You can see more photos here.

New cafe opens in Monte Gorde, São Nicolau sponsored by SOS

2011-06-27T12:48:00.000-02:00

The beautiful park of Monte Gorde in São Nicolau is visited by many tourists, but unfortunately there are no facilities for them, so they simply pass through the small village and the community receives no benefit from their visit . Encouraged by the Peace Corps Volunteer living there, one enterprising individual has decided to open a cafe and to produce home made jams to sell to visitors.

SOS Tartarugas was delighted to be asked to participate in this project and sponsored the menus and labels for the products. In this way we can help the community and also get across a message about the need to preserve nature and the community has a way to generate income to help improve conditions.

Assisting the community in Pedra de Lume

2011-06-27T08:48:00.000-02:00

Last week SOS met members of the community association in Pedra de Lume in the second phase of a project to improve conditions for people living there.

Sr Jorge, association secretary takes notes as SOS discusses Palmeira community needs

The first phase, in 2010, was a period of consultation where communities living in Sal were invited to tell us what they thought about turtle conservation and whether they believed it was relevant and necessary. Happily the vast majority believed that it was important to preserve nature and in particular the endangered and emblematic turtles that they view as part of the national patrimony. However, few people could see why they should get involved and in what way this could happen.

The project in Pedra de Lume is a pilot to see whether the community can benefit from running and designing their own turtle conservation scheme. It is a long-term goal of SOS Tartarugas to hand over the management of turtles to the population of Sal, since this is the only truly sustainable solution.

Next week members of the community will attend a workshop in Santa Maria where they will learn not only about turtle conservation and research techniques but also how to raise finance and how to conduct outreach and education activities.

Palmeira Association members, Claudio (far right) was chosen to lead the project and will attend next week's training workshop

Pedra de Lume is often bypassed as visitors drive through to visit the salinas ,so the community, with the help of SOS Tartarugas, will try to design an attraction such as a museum or visitor's centre to raise money that will benefit all residents. SOS Tartarugas will also help the community to apply for grants.

An excellent example of this kind of programme can be seen in Cruzinha da Garça on Santo Antão, which began a conservation project in partnership with INDP & SOS Tartarugas. After three years of hard work the community association received funding from the UN GEF Small Grants programme and went on to win the Equator Prize which "is designed to shine a spotlight on these leading grassroots efforts by celebrating them on an international stage." You can read more information about the project here. SOS Tartarugas also supports community projects on São Vicente, Fogo, São Nicolau, Maio & Santiago.

Rufina, from the fishing community of Cruzinha da Graça visits SOS Tartarugas to learn about hatchery management

We hope to help the community of Pedra de Lume to emulate these fantastic achievements while at the same time preserving Cabo Verde's heritage for generations to come.

Lucky escape for a turtle in Santiago

2011-06-23T14:44:00.000-02:00

What a great story this is. A turtle was being carried off to be killed but the hunters were seen by the police. Thankfully she was saved and was returned to the sea earlier today, exhausted but able to swim to safety.

It's the first time I have heard of such an intervention in Santiago and would love to think that the Nha Terra campaign workshops for the authorities contributed in some small part to this rescue.

Praia: Tartaruga salva pela polícia da morte iminente

English translation:

Turtle About To Die Saved by Police

It was really a close call for this sea turtle which escaped from ending up in a pan. Apparently a group of fishermen took the turtle from Gamboa beach and by chance were seen by a police van on the street. The incident occurred at around 23:00 yesterday, June 22.

The turtle was being carried by a group of fishermen who came from Gamboa beach but seeing the the National Police truck they dropped the animal in the road near the roundabout in San Antonio and ran away.

National Police colleagues contacted the Marine Police who soon arrived at the scene. The injured turtle was placed on the back of the van and was returned to the sea today. According to a source an animal of this size could be sold for around €300.

This incident comes at a time when there is an awareness campaign for the population of Santiago on the consumption of turtles. An initiative of the National Protection of Sea Turtles in Cape Verde (TAOLA), in partnership with the Directorate General for Environment (DGA).

According to the DGA, Santiago is the island where there is the most consumption of meat.

Training underway

2011-06-23T08:58:00.000-02:00

We are finally starting to see tracks regularly and following a great welcome meeting at Turtle House on Tuesday night, training is underway with local and international volunteers.

Learning what a nest looks like

How to find the egg chamber

Night patrols have also started and several nests have been recorded.

Romina & Ariano collect data on Serra Negra

Sal's first nest of the 2011 season

2011-06-21T11:14:00.000-02:00

The turtles really made us wait this year! The first track was on 3 June and then unusually, there was nothing until last night - a whole 17 days later. Normally if a turtle didn't nest the first time she came out of the water you would expect to see another nest the next night or even later that same night - even if not a nest, a track - or something!!

Maybe that first early turtle must have gone to another island because she doesn't seem to have nested here.

Anyway, after all this waiting and plenty of Ranger beach miles, here it is, the first nest, laid on Costa Fragata last night.

Spread the word - please, no more driving on any beach or dune.

Little Nippers Nesting in Cape Verde

2011-06-20T07:26:00.000-02:00

A very nice article about the turtles here in Cabo Verde from our friends at the travel portal My Destination.

Little Nippers Nesting in Cape Verde

Costa Fragata is ready now!

2011-06-13T13:07:00.000-02:00

What a difference a few hours of picking up rubbish makes. The south end of Costa Fragata was such an eyesore before the group of expat volunteers cleaned it up yesterday. Thanks to Linda, Peter, Nathan, Betania, Janice, Rosi, Marta, Sarah, Holly, Jeanette, Nicky, Cheryl, Gemma, Sarah, Sean, Tony & family, Neal. The dogs were a bit overenthusiastic but other than that it was a great morning!

Before : completely covered in plastic bottles and bags and fishing net

After: Nice safe place to nest

Destined for the cooking pot ......

2011-06-09T15:12:00.000-02:00

We love happy endings and we especially love stories that end with turtles going back in the sea instead of in the cooking pot!

By a happy coincidence a resident of Santiago heard on the radio an item about the Taola Nha Terra campaign and shortly met a neighbour who had acquired a turtle and didn't know what to do with it.

We contacted the Nha Terra campaign coordinator in Santiago, Peace Corps Volunteer, Jon Berg, who, on finding no one in authority was available, jumped in a car and headed north to see what was going on.

The first in her family to take a ride in a car

It turned out that a resident of Achada de Punta, purchased the juvenile green turtle from a fisherman for 1000$ CVE (€10/£6) in order to set him free. The turtle almost certainly was going to be dinner at some point had she not done this. Having obtained the turtle she didn't know what the best thing to do for the turtle's welfare was.

Happily Jon was able to release it on the beach in Pedra Badejo.

Heading back to the sea at Pedra Badejo

Even better, the lovely lady is also keen to start a sea turtle conservation group in her town! Stories like these really show that the tide is turning in favour of conserving turtles, even in small rural communities.

You know the turtle season has started when.....

2011-06-05T06:20:00.000-02:00

..... your phone rings at all kinds of odd times of day.

Yesterday early in the morning Nicky Salvini phoned me to say that her sister, Patrizia was on the beach of Costa Fragata and thought she had found something that looked like a turtle track. Rushing over there I met Pat on her way back. From what she described (scoops in out of the sand going round in circles and back down to the water) it could only be one thing. Our first track of the season!

Up track

This is the earliest track we have recorded on Sal and fooled almost everyone who entered our sweepstake competition. Everyone that is, except Betania, the first Ranger to arrive, who correctly guessed that the first turtle would show up on the same day as she did! Instead of having the honour of the first nest in the hatchery, Betania has chosen a head-torch as her prize since she forgot to bring her own (whoops!)

There was no nest, the turtle only had a bit of a wander around, but we anticipate finding either another track or a nest this morning in the same area.

The dogs help to identify the down track

The hatchery's up, the turtles must be near

2011-06-03T12:20:00.000-02:00

In a stunning display of speed, strength and organisational skills this tiny SOS Tartarugas team built the main hatchery in record time.

From nothing to completely built in only two hours. Amazing! It normally takes us the best part of two days.

What's the secret Peter?

More photos here.

"Nha Terra" campaign launched in Praia

2011-06-02T07:47:00.000-02:00

The island of Santiago is the largest consumer of turtle meat and illegal imports from other islands is common.

To counter this, this summer there will be a large scale awareness campaign to alert the population to the fact that turtles are on the brink of extinction in Cabo Verde. The campaign comprises of public events in Praia, São Francisco, Ciadade Velha, Tarrafal, Pedra Badjo, Calheta & Assomoda.

In addition, workshops for the authorities (Police, port authorities, airport security, Câmara Municipais & judiciary) to discuss the laws relating to turtles and to encourage more rigorous application.

The theme of the campaign "Nha Terra" focuses on turtles being a part of the country's heritage and important to preserve for future generations. In addition they are migratory, just like a large percentage of the Capeverdean population and they have a right to return to a safe place to give birth.

The campaign was launched in Praia by the batukaderas of Delta Cultura (Tarrafal, Santiago) who have written a special song to support the campaign.

A big week for turtles

2011-05-31T13:09:00.000-02:00

As the annual Taola (Capeverdean Sea Turtle Network) meeting in Praia gets underway, news also reached us about the first nest of the 2012 season.

It was laid in Ervatão a beach in Boa Vista on the 25th May. Although nests in May are not completely unheard of, it is pretty early. We weren't really expecting to see any tracks until the second week of June!

So we have quickly got ourselves organised and started day time patrols to look for tracks and on Thursday the main hatchery will be built. Usually we would have some Rangers here already to help but in all three previous years the turtles haven't turned up until after we have been patrolling for what seems like weeks! Naturally the year we decide to start working a little later, the turtles get here earlier!

The first Rangers arrive at the end of the this week, so we should soon be up and running.

The famous SOS Turtle Predication Sweepstake

2011-05-20T09:44:00.001-02:00

How to play:

a) Take a look at the map of Sal and decide which beach you think the first turtle track will be seen by SOS Tartarugas. Remember the letter. (Click map to enlarge)
b) Decide which day you think it will be seen. Remember the date. (Hint: Unlikely to be before June 1st and if it is after June 21st there are going to be some very bored SOS Rangers by then!)
c) Email or post here your beach letter and date.
d) Donate €2 to the cause
e) Collect your prize which consists of a brand new SOS cotton bag and the honour of adopting the very first nest in the hatchery in 2011.

Good luck!

PS You have to get the date and beach correct to win and judge's decision is final!

Big shout out to the beach cleaning team!

2011-05-17T08:39:00.000-02:00

Thanks to everyone who supported this initiative. We cleaned a huge section of Kite Beach thanks to a small but dedicated bunch of people.

Well done to Linda, Peter, Neal, Marta, Francesco, Debora, Nicoletta, Vickey, Patricia (we can see you at the back), Liz, Sean, Ariane, Kirk and finally the Salter family.

You can see lots more photos by clicking on this link.

Engaging Sal's communities in turtle conservation/Engajamento de Communidades en Conservação das Tartarugas Marinhas

2011-05-14T08:16:00.000-02:00

Conservation can benefit communities as well as the target species and one of the aims of SOS Tartarugas is to demonstrate how this can happen. Ultimately the aim is for communities to protect their own marine resources including turtles and to reap the benefits that this might bring.

After three years of concentrating on direct protection of nesting turtles the project enters a new phase, focusing to how to engage the community in conservation activities.

Residents of Algodoeiro discuss turtle conservation

The first step was to try to understand the barriers to people caring and becoming involved in conservation and so INDP were commissioned to undertake a study which involved discussions with fishing communities, businesses & the general population here on Sal.

Thankfully the majority of people were aware that it was against the law to harm or disturb turtles, but most did not see any benefit to participating in their protection although they recognised that this was an important thing to do. They simply did not see it as anything to do with them.

Talking to the fishing community at Pedra de Lume

Changing this perception is going to be a long-term project and the first steps will be to begin a pilot scheme with one of our coastal communities to demonstrate that protecting turtles and the environment is worthwhile for so many reasons.

The full report can be downloaded here in Portuguese and here in English.

Fishermen to be paid to collect plastic?

2011-05-11T14:23:00.000-02:00

This story is of real interest to us all since any removal of plastic from the sea has to be a good thing, but a few things in the reports caught my eye:

The BBC reports that one of the aims is to give fishermen a financial boost (some of them have already been collecting plastic for no reward). Paul Trebilcock, chief executive of the Cornwall's fish producers organisation says that as custodians of the sea the fishermen were happy to do this for nothing. Unfortunately if fishermen were truly custodians of the sea, the fisheries industry would not be in such a bad way.

Imagine using beef farmers as an analogy - each year they kill all of their livestock to maximise the monetary gain, allowing so few of the cattle to reproduce that in a few years all the cattle are gone.

Then imagine that not only have the beef farmers killed all the cows, during the course of their work, they also indiscriminately killed all the sheep and pigs and chickens that they encountered (these were not eaten, they were disposed of since they were not the target species).

Pretty soon, nothing left at all in the fields, no beef, chicken or pork in the supermarket, farmers asking for more subsidies and protection and blaming the government for poor management and then finally, to make up for the food shortage, breeding really random species (let your imagination run wild!) and relabeling it so that an unsuspecting public think they are still eating the meat products they can't do without.

Pretty daft isn't it? But that is the sad state of our seas and fisheries now.

The second paragraph that really stands out is from the Guardian report:

"The move is intended as a sweetener to fishermen who have bitterly opposed the European commission's plans to ban the wasteful practice of discarding edible fish at sea. Fleets fear they will lose money by not being able to throw away lower-value catch."

So you can see that despite 'being custodians of the sea' they still back the incredible waste of a huge proportion of what they catch.

BBC: Litter Catch Payment Plans

Guardian: EU unveils plans to pay fishermen to catch plastic

Marine Conservation Society discussion on the subject

Coincidentally our first beach clean of the season will be on Sunday 15th starting at 9am on Kite Beach, Costa Fragata. Bring your own rubbish bags, drinks and lunch. email info @ sostartarugas.org for more information.

Tourism development - a different perspective.

2011-05-09T08:34:00.000-02:00

Prompted by the opening of the new all-inclusive RIU on Boa Vista, Radiotelevisão Caboverdiana reports on the unseen problems caused by tourism development.

This includes the sudden unemployment of as many as 500 migrant workers who now swell the growing barracas (slums) in Sal Rei.

You can see the full report here:
RTC report on problems caused by tourism development

Build your own rubbish bin on Earth Day

2011-05-05T08:37:00.000-02:00

One of the biggest hazards to marine turtles is rubbish, so what better way to teach children about the environment and turtles than to make them think about what they do with their rubbish.

Escola Nova in Espargos, the capital of Sal had a problem with disposing of rubbish in the classrooms because of the lack of bins, so SOS organised a competition to get the kids to design and make their own bins using recycled materials.

A ceremony was held on Friday with judges from SOS Tartarugas, the Delegation for Education and the Peace Corps with the winners receiving a map of the world and some art & craft materials.

Only three grades were involved but this still meant 600 children! Each bin had an environmental message written on it and a representative from each class came forward and described the materials used for their bins and explained the message. The bins all showed a great level of creativity and imagination and choosing three winners was very difficult.

In the end the judges chose three bins based on the creative use of materials, while of course our favourites were those that incorporated turtles in the design!

The turtle season is almost here!

2011-04-28T11:52:00.000-02:00

On our second day back on Sal, the real work begins. The main things are in place, funding and the all important team of paid Rangers and volunteers and now we are finalising the plan with the Camara Municipal do Sal.

This year we face a couple of new challenges, including the massive increase in activity on the main nesting beach of Algodoeiro/Ponta Preta. Lighting will deter many of our usual visitors from laying their nest and will also mean that any nests that are laid will need to be relocated to a safe place. It's a shame that the developers are not responsive to any suggestions of how to improve the situation and keep turtles coming back to this area.

Our other challenge is to keep turtles safe on Mont Leao which has a history of almost 100% mortality of any that come ashore. We hope to have a semi-permanent camp there that will not only act as protection but also an education and information point.

On the plus side, we will once again be running a workshop in July for people from other islands who are working with, or wish to work with turtles. One of the objectives of the project is to try to stimulate conservation activities amongst communities and to fund activities where there are no resources available.

Another highlight could be returning turtles from 2008. This was the first year of the project and it would be incredibly exciting to see some of the first ones we ever tagged back on the beach again.

We still have a few places open and are especially interested in hearing from German speakers.

Happy Earth Day

2011-04-22T16:29:00.000-02:00

Do something for the earth today.....

SOS Tartarugas Earth Day Events

Tiny turtles tagged

2011-03-11T05:49:00.000-02:00

By customising tiny 9gm tags usually used for birds, scientists have been able to track a group of 4-6 month old turtles. The turtles were released in Palm Beach. Prof Wyneken of Florida Atlantic University said "The turtles varied a lot in their movements, more so than we expected. They're likely doing much more than just paddling straight to the deep water and riding the current."

Now if we could only raise £32,000 we could tag one of our own little loggerheads!

Read the full story here.

Tag a Turtle Project, Newquay, England

2011-03-09T08:22:00.000-02:00

The Tag a Turtle project aims to raise enough funds to satellite tag the next turtle that finds itself lost and in need of rehabilitation at the Blue Reef Aquariam in Newquay. Many of the recently stranded turtles have been loggerheads.
The project needs to raise £3,000. Congratulations to Nicola and Nicole on this great initiative.
You can read more about in on their website Tag a Turtle

Cape Verde Shearwater in danger

2011-03-07T09:57:00.000-02:00

Sadly it's not only the turtles that face extinction in Cape Verde.

The Cape Verde shearwater (calonectris edwardsii, known here as the cagarra) also faces a severe threat from hunting. The birds are killed for food just before they are ready to leave the nest.

Even after awareness campaigns and other activities hunting of the fledglings continue, as José Melo says "it is causing the extinction of a species that only exists in Cape Verde, 70% of them on Raso islet and also near Rombo islet, next to Brava. It doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world.”

Read the full article here

Almeida Viagens Expo travel agent to support turtle conservation in Cape Verde

2011-02-18T07:25:00.001-02:00

Portuguese travel agent, Almeida Viagens Expo, based in Lisbon and SOS Tartarugas have signed an agreement to work together to promote sustainable tourism in Cabo Verde.

Manager Anabela Fonseca says "The negative impact tourism has on the destinations, and in this particular case, on the nesting turtles in Cape Verde is one of our concerns. We believe in a sustainable development of tourism, and thus it is our goal to help preserving the destinations we promote."

Almeida Viagens Expo will donate a percentage of all bookings to Cabo Verde as well as help to promote turtle conservation in Portugal. They will also give discounts to volunteers travelling to Cabo Verde to work with SOS Tartarugas.

Visitors who book their travel through Almeida Viagens Expo will be able to make advance bookings for turtle walks and will have the opportunity to assist Rangers on the beaches and in the hatchery.

For more information Almeida Viagens Expo website and Facebook page

German speakers needed

2011-02-07T15:34:00.000-02:00

It's only the start of February but we are very happy to have received so many outstanding applications for jobs and volunteer position working with turtles in Cabo Verde this summer.

The one nation that is not well represented is Germany. As so many German tourists visit Cabo Verde it is really important to have a German speaker on our team. If you speak German & English, have a friendly personality, like to work with people and would like to work with turtles please get in touch with us soon.

How to help turtles if you have a beachfront property

2011-02-01T10:23:00.000-02:00

Some hints and tricks from SOS Tartarugas to make lighting more turtle friendly.

National Plan for the Conservation of Marine Turtles finally approved

2011-01-28T08:26:00.000-02:00

Almost three years after the plan was officially launched at a conference in Sal, the National Plan has been ratified by parliament and has become official.

Sónia Araújo Lopes, the Focal Point of CBD and Marine Turtle Conservation in Cape Verde, working at the Direcção Geral do Ambiente/ General Directorate of Environmental sent this email:

É com muita satisfação que lhes envio este e-mail cujo segue em anexo o B.O. de 13 de Dezembro, resolução nº 72/2010 que finalmente aprova o Plano Nacional para a Conservação das Tartrugas Marinhas em Cabo Verde - PNCTMCV.
Deveriam ser feitas algumas correcções antes de ser publicado, mas estamos satisfeito pois já está aprovado.
Continuação de um bom dia de trabalho.

It is with great satisfaction that I am sending this email with the attached Boletim Oficial of December 13, Resolution No. 72/2010 which finally approved the National Plan for the Conservation of Marine Tartrugas in Cape Verde - PNCTMCV. Corrections should be made before publication, but we're happy because it is already approved.
Keep up the good work.

Some say that proper funding for this plan should follow, so let's see.

Kids/Hospital/Christmas

2010-12-27T10:22:00.000-02:00

Neal aka Santa

SOS Tartarugas delivered toys and presents to kids in hospital at Christmas.

Expresso das Ilhas report
Asemana report

Newborn with cuddly toys

Janine from Agir pelo Sal

Most people who know me know that I'm not great with any of the three things in the title! I understand dogs better than kids (sorry!), I hate germs and sickness & can't look at blood and Christmas makes me run and hide!!

Melisa (SOS Tartarugas) hands out gift

Nevertheless we were happy to help NGO Agir pelo Sal (Action for Sal) to deliver toys and clothes to the children and babies in hospital on Sal on Christmas Eve.

The toys were kindly donated by Mike Morgan and friends in Wales Morgan Office UK.

Thanks to all who contributed, the kids were thrilled!

The last few nests....

2010-12-15T09:03:00.000-02:00

One of the last nests on Costa Fragata hatched yesterday evening and by chance we were there to see it. At around 17.20 when we got to the nest we saw six little heads poking out of the sand and within 20 minutes there were 73 frisky hatchlings racing for the sea. I guess they came out a little bit early as it was so overcast and cool. An amazing treat, it's really rare to be in the right place at the right time.

So Costa Fragata is almost finished, but still lots more turtles waiting to be born on Serra Negra!

Mother Nature Network

2010-12-04T17:20:00.000-02:00

SOS Tartarugas is featured on Mother Nature Network's destination of the week. Mother Nature Network

The strangest turtle ever?

2010-12-01T00:35:00.001-02:00

This oddly deformed turtle was given to us a few days ago after it was seen floating around just off Santa Maria. It had lost two of its flippers, possibly in a shark attack and clearly could no longer swim. The malformations included a really a shorterned, heart-shaped carapace which curved upwards at the edge, particularly at the rear and a large hump in the middle.

The veterinarian who examined the turtle suggested that the main cause was a calcium deficiency which may have been due to poor nutrition.

In Cabo Verde many people keep turtles at home, often in sweet water rather than salt and feed them an inappropriate diet. A lack of sunlight and being kept in a small container would also be a contributing factor. It is possible that this turtle became a victim of this practice.

Unfortunately its injuries were too severe for it to survive.

For more photos please follow this link

Scientific Paper Published : The Effects of Tourism, Beachfront Development and Light Pollution on Nesting Loggerhead Turtles on Sal, Cape Verde

2010-11-08T10:41:00.000-02:00

We are delighted to announce that our research regarding the effect increasing amounts of beachfront development has had on nesting turtles since SOS Tartarugas started working in 2008 has been published in the magazine of the Zoological Society of Cabo Verde.

Nesting beach July 2010

The research found that although hunting of female loggerhead turtles is still a major issue, habitat loss and light pollution are becoming a more serious threat. Construction sites, hotels, apartment buildings and restaurants close to beaches, bright lights and illegal removal of sand are contributing to a marked decrease in the total number of nesting turtles on some beaches. In 2009, beaches on Sal experienced an average increase in nests of 200%, while the beach most affected by construction (Tortuga Beach, which, ironically, is named after turtles) saw a decrease of nests of 7.3% (from 19.1% of total number of nests in 2008 to 11.8% in 2010). This beach also recorded a much lower nest to emergence ratio than normal - only 17.6% of turtles coming ashore here laid a nest compared to the more normal 29.9% seen in other areas. This indicates a reluctance to nest due to light pollution and other disturbances.

Nesting has halved on areas of Algodoeiro since 2008 while nesting on the beaches Santa Maria has declined from 7% of all nests to only 3% in 2010.

Even more alarming is the fact that 75% of nests had on Algodoeiro had to be moved in 2010 due to the threat of light pollution that would cause disorientation to the hatchlings at birth - this figure was much lower at 26% in 2008. On the east coast only 9% required relocation to the hatchery for this reason.

The results indicate a trend towards turtles moving from established nesting areas to beaches with less disturbance. However these other beaches have lower hatching success rates (such as Serra Negra which is subject to flooding) and higher mortality rates of nesting females as they are unpatrolled (northern beaches and in particular Mont Leão which accounts for 41% of all turtles killed on unpatrolled beaches).

Sadly, the beaches are bright but the future for turtles on Sal is not.

The full report can be read and downloaded here

Turtles saved by Rangers

2010-10-31T07:04:00.001-02:00

Now the season is coming to an end we are able to look back over this year’s data and see what we have achieved. This year's tagging and recapture data shows we tagged 111 turtles. We have seen two turtles that were tagged by SOS in 2008 meaning that the work we conducted in the first year of the project is already allowing the safe return of turtles for another year.

This year we have also recorded five turtles from projects on other islands, something we always find particularly exciting and interesting as turtles tend to nest on the same or similar beaches year after year. However we are finding that here in Cape Verde turtles do wander and visit other islands. Peach is a fantastic example of this, 17 days after she was tagged on Sal, she had made her way to Boa Vista where she was nested on Boa Esperança beach.

Out of all the turtles tagged this season 38% have been seen again and 36.9% have been seen laying two or more nests.

Every year there’s always one turtle who makes herself known more than the others, this year it was Spaghetti who was seen six times and laid three nests.

Horizonte and Squirt were the turtles Rangers saw nesting the most this year, both turtles laid four nests. Horizonte was tagged by members of a workshop held in July and every nest she laid was on exactly the same section of beach! Squirt laid all her nests on Serra Negra, the busiest beach on Sal this year. Squirt was also seen by a group of guests on one of our 'Ranger Experience' tour.

This year we saved nine turtles through direct intervention, all were found turned upside down by hunters waiting to be killed. Seven of these turtles were saved in one exhausting week in August! Many of them were seen returning more than once this season completely undeterred by their earlier experiences.

Chase was seen four times including the time she was saved. She was seen nesting twice and her first nest was the day after she was saved.

Upsey, Eurildo and Francesca were all saved on the same evening. Both Upsey and Eurildo were seen nesting twice after. Francesca was wise and made sure she wasn’t seen again!

Two nests laid by saved turtles have hatched and both were amazingly successful with 90% of the eggs developing into little turtles.

All in all, another remarkable season! If you want to adopt and name one of our tagged turtles send an email to SOS Tartarugas

A few more entries from our daily log...

2010-10-28T11:02:00.000-02:00

During the season, the days vary so much, from full on, massive adrenalin patrols to peaceful, strolls on the beach and everything in between. Here are a few examples of how our nights can be....

6/08/10, Costa Fragata 9pm-1am, Stef and Santi

The only thing on patrol tonight was an FCUing turtle spotted on Kite Beach, a few hundred metres after the shack. She wasn’t tagged. The rest of the patrol was non eventful, soldiers and poachers were totally absent.

08/07/10 Algodoeiro 3am-6am, Hattie and Sandra

I’d like to say that Sandra and I had a nice patrol full of turtles. Sadly this is not the case. At 3.35am we found something we didn’t want to find, a dead mama turtle. Her carapace, flippers, eggs and everything else the hunters decided they didn’t want were discarded around her, it really wasn’t a pleasant sight. We phoned the police but sadly they were unable to attend. We took some photos, and recorded the data measuring her carapace and took a GPS the location. Following this we carried on patrolling the beach recording another 5 activities and trans-locating one nest of 84 eggs into spot ten in the main hatchery.

10/07/10 Costa Fragata 9-1am, Stef, Janice and Fab

OMG call it an eventful night! So everything seemed quiet along the beach, strolled half way down Quarry and stop to check out a track that looked pretty fresh… I crawled up to the first pit noticing there didn’t seem to be a down track however the up track ended just after the dune, so I called Janice and Fab, with our detective hats on we started investigating…. TCSI (turtle crime scene investigation). After a while I decided to follow what seemed to be in the pitch darkness a drag mark. We walked down right into the back of the dunes when Fab noticed something moving, turned out to be the poor mama upside down! We were worried it may have been harmed but after turning our lights on we worked out she was still alive and completely fine. We phoned the emergency phone and waited for Neal to come and help, guarding the mama turtle. When Neal arrived she was tagged measured and flipped the right way and returned safely back to sea. The turtle named Lucky Kite had been successfully saved! We continued patrolling and later we saw two men where lucky Kite had been, we assumed they had come back for her, IN YOUR FACE POACHERS! Later that night on PJ we saw a mama turtle nesting. We are all very tired now and its time for the boys to take over, good night Lucky Kite it was nice to meet you!

27/07/10 Costa Fragata 9-1 Janice, James and Steve

We saw no turtles and no new tracks only tracks recorded by the tour earlier. We did see 6 men and a dog walking up the beach and behind the dunes where they sat down. As we left the beach 3 men and a dog left too. We informed the second patrol so they were able to keep and eye out. Yawn.

Join the SOS Tartarugas team in 2011

2010-10-27T13:10:00.000-02:00

We need dedicated, committed, hard-working people to join our team in 2011.

By working with us you can make a real difference to saving nesting loggerhead turtles from becoming extinct in Cabo Verde.

We have many opportunities, paid and unpaid, ranging from the entire season to just a few days.

For more information please go to

Turtle Conservation Jobs with SOS Tartarugas

This year's SOS girlies

2010-10-26T10:28:00.009-02:00

40 Cents, Alberta, Amazing Grace, Anna Mary Ann, Arianna, Atkins, Aurora Roja, Beckey, Bee, Beurocracy, Big Bertha, Burger, Camilla, Chase, Claudia, Dental De Tubarão (Shark Bite), Despedida, Dortora, Double Date, Duna, Eleanor, Eneda, Ermione, Eurildo, Extreme Madura, Flappin About, Flora, Francesca, Gamila, Gg, Gillie, Ginger, Giulietta, Goldilocks, Hilda May, Horizonte, Isabel, Itsma, Janice, Kiss, Kobe, Lady Sophie, Ladyneia, Lainey- Lou, Lola, Lory Meyers, Lovely, Lucia, Lucky Kite, Magdrugada, Marimar, Mascha, Melody, Misfire, Momo, Mutti, Nasas, Natalina, Pandora, Peach, Penny, Perfect Mary, Perranporth, Picaninho, Pitter, Pliedes, Poldina, Portia, Praia, Princess Fiona, Priscila, Pumpkin, Queen Elizabeth Ii, Rainha (Queen), Raquel, Remora, Rippa, Rizza, Rush, Sally, Sammy, Saoirse, Sarah, Schidpad, Servanda, Sidka, Silviani, Snax, Snoop Dog, Sofia, Sookie, Spaghetti, Squirt, Squish, Sweety, Teresa, Tiburanera, Tilly, Trulla, Turtletastic, Upsey, Vega, Viola, Wendy, Winmarleigh, Yve

107 female loggerheads tagged by Rangers on Sal island this year but we still have around 20 un-named turtles.

If you would like to adopt an adult turtle it costs €30 and you will receive lots of information about your turtle (how big she is, where she nested and how many times and how successful her nests were). email info@turtlesos.org to arrange your adoption.

Why not adopt a turtle for a friend or relative - it makes a great gift for Christmas.

Bitten by the turtle bug

2010-10-24T06:18:00.000-02:00

Mary and Fred Norgrove wrote to us before their holiday at the RIU. They had seen a nesting turtle in Boa Vista on their previous visit and were keen to experience the same on Sal. Unfortunately the timing was a bit off and we had already stopped our turtle walks.

Plenty of hatchlings were being born though and Mary and Fred became regulars at the hatchery each afternoon. Soon enough Mary had heard Neal make his presentation so many times that she had pretty much memorised it and they were soon answering other visitors questions and even giving Neal's presentation to fellow guests over the dinner table!

They were so enthusiastic that when there was no excavation at the main hatchery they took a taxi to our second hatchery on the eastern part of Santa Maria so they could excavate the nest themselves!

Mary and Fred are planning to come back next year and be volunteers and we are looking forward to seeing them then.

Mariel's thesis - Incubation of turtles on Sal

2010-10-21T06:02:00.002-02:00

Congratulations to Mariel Murazzi who has just finished her Masters thesis and graduated from University of Pisa. Mariel was with SOS Tartarugas in the summer of 2009 and worked tremendously hard as a Ranger in addition to doing the extra work required to complete her study. The results of the study are very interesting and will make a real contribution to the conservation work we do.

The full title of the study is "Incubation Temperature and Risk Assessment Associated with the Transfer of Eggs on the Island of Sal".

Environmental Crime in Fogo

2010-10-20T07:04:00.000-02:00

The total destruction of the beaches in Fogo through the removal of sand is well underway and authorised by the Camâra Municipal. It's against the law but they have decided to ignore that small point. Of course it's bad for the turtles but it is bad for the entire island ecology as well. Even if you can't understand the language of the report shown on Cape Verdean television, anyone can see that a continous stream of trucks digging out the sand on the main beach outside São Filipe is going to have a catastrophic effect. Greed and short-termism at its most visible.

RTC Report on Sand Extraction on Fogo

Cabo Verde Explorer - now Turtle Friendly!

2010-10-19T09:10:00.000-02:00

Driving on beaches at any time of year is illegal but at this time of year it is critical for a number of reasons:

The heavy weight of vehicles compacts the sand and prevents turtles from nesting (as can be clearly seen on Praia Antonio de Sousa where there were NO nests this year compared to 27 last year)
Ruts in the sand cause hatchlings to walk parallel to the sea rather than go towards the sea as they are not big enough to see which direction they should go in
Driving over nests crushes the eggs and at this time of year also kills hatchlings that are waiting just below the surface for night to fall.

Tyre tracks going directly over a nest (10 dead turtles found just underneath the sand)

Nests on the beach will continue to hatch until the end of December.

So when we saw deep tyre marks almost the entire length of Serra Negra we were very worried. The distinctive new excursion 'Cabo Verde Explorer' was driving guests over and very close to numerous nests (Serra Negra is the highest density nesting beach on Sal).

Following a meeting with the organisers we are delighted that the excursion has now been changed to a peaceful walk on Serra Negra rather than a drive.

Proprietor Luigi Papa told us "I welcome your clarification and since our meeting we now walk the beach of Serra Negra.... I also welcome your suggestion to provide us with your guide so that you can be sure that we do not drive on Serra Negra beach and so you can give tourists more information about the beach, turtles and your work. (In addition, if you like, you can also ask them for a donation to your foundation). We are happy to work with you in our tours of Serra Negra"

We like happy endings and thank Luigi for his cooperation - the turtles appreciate it!

Amazing bird sightings on Sal!

2010-10-13T08:44:00.000-02:00

Alexander's Kestrel

On a slight tangent, we had a pool of water near the hatchery for some weeks after the rain. A guest from the UK, Steve Payne who had his telescope with us was kind enough to share his bird sightings.

For 14 days between 14 - 28 September this is what Steve recorded:

At the temporary pools at the rear of RIU hotel
Black Winged Stilt
Turnstone
Sanderling
Kentish Plover

Greenshank

Ringed Plover
Grey Plover
Greenshank
Whimbrel
Little Egret
Alexander's Kestrel
Osprey
Grey Heron
Purple Heron
Yellow Wagtail
Turtle Dove

At other locations

Kentish Plover

Wheatear
Greater Hoopoe Lark
Bar Tailed Desert Lark
Hoopoe
Iago Sparrow
House Sparrow
Swallow

Who knew?!!!

No all we need is a bit more rain each day and to persuade the RIU not to fill up the pool with diesel after they have finished pumping all the water out of the hotel!!

Thanks for sharing the information Steve.

Miracle Turtles Born

2010-10-12T12:21:00.003-02:00

One day around four weeks ago some guests at the RIU hotel were walking on the beach and found one or two turtle eggs. Looking around they realised that due to an exceptionally large swell there was an entire nest about to be swept into the sea. Rushing up to the hotel they were given a black plastic bin bag and they quickly put the eggs inside and handed them to the receptionist. Unfortunately that's where they stayed all day!

Around 4pm the brother of a driver that we work with somehow obtained this unlikely package and around 5pm he brought them down to us at the hatchery.

Looking inside Neal didn't hold out much hope for them.

Several weeks in the sand, washed over by waves, inexpertly bundled into a black plastic bin bag, sitting on the floor in an air-conditioned room all day.... could any hatchlings really be born after this?

Well, we'll try anything! So the team put them into the hatchery and we all stopped worrying about them.

12 nights later and none of us can believe it - a solitary hatchling was born. We waited impatiently another day, nobody daring to hope more would be born - but we were wrong! The following night another 24 were born!

We estimate that this nest of 59 eggs was laid by the turtle on the 13 August and spent 40 days on the beach before being relocated.

Later that night on 5 October 2010, 25 miracle baby turtles were released into the sea in front of a cheering group of guests and Rangers.

The killing fields of Mont Leão

2010-10-04T08:31:00.001-02:00

SN = Serra Negra, AL=Algodoeiro, CF=Costa Fragata, ML = Mont Leão

As the nesting season draws to a close, we have time to reflect on both successes and things that did not go so well. One of the disappointments in 2009 was the number of turtles killed at Serra Negra and one of the main objectives for 2010 was to make sure that this critical beach was well protected. Happily, despite severe transport issues, (a Landrover that rarely runs, a three year old quad bike and our back up quad bike stolen by joyriders and destroyed), we managed to cover this beach throughout the night and the number of turtles killed was dramatically reduced.

One of the season's last nesting turtles brutally killed on Mont Leão

The story was not so happy on Mont Leão however, an area we used to patrol regularly with the help of the Camâra Municipal who provided a driver. This year a driver was not available but they did provide some cover with the military. The number of turtles killed on Mont Leão this year are shocking and are probably not the whole picture - some would have been taken away by pick up and we have found many shells buried. One of the problems is the lack of suitable habitat since the ground has become rock hard with so many cars driving there, this means the turtles spend a long time ashore looking for a place to lay - giving hunters plenty of time to find them.

Another worry is that more and more turtles are being driven to this beach as the areas further south on Algodoeiro become less and less available because of construction and lighting. It has been proven that turtles will choose less suitable habitat if their usual beaches are not available. So while it seems that there are still enough beaches on Sal for turtles, the beach with the best conditions has always been the southwest and the beaches they are now forced to choose are much more hazardous and may not have a very good hatching success rate.

Eggs that were still inside the turtle are taken from the oviduct

Blood drained from the body to be drunk later

In a somewhat random event, two of our Rangers were unfortunate enough to witness the death, at Mont Leão, of one of the very last turtles of the 2010 season. The yellow undeveloped eggs, which are the eggs preferred by people on Sal, were being collected and the blood was being decanted into a bottle. The blood, we are told, is added to wine as an aphrodisiac.

Mont Leão will be a priority for 2011 if we can work out a way to have more reliable transport and how to support more volunteers and soldiers at this beach.

Fishing net nearly kills hatchlings

2010-10-02T07:59:00.000-02:00

Here's a perfect example of why we try our hardest to get all the fishing net off the beach. Not only is it a terrible eyesore, but it traps hatchlings in the nest and when they try to get to the sea. Peter & Linda found this nest the day after it had hatched and these lucky babies were saved after much patient untangling.

From Libby (aged 6)

2010-09-26T14:22:00.001-02:00

Hi Neal

I am really happy about the number of turtles that hatched, the success rate of 94% is brilliant. Thank you very much for sending me the photos that you took of the baby turtles, I especially liked the one of the turtles heading towards the sea. I am going to print them and take them in to school to show my friends.

Me and my Mam and Dad think that you and your team are doing a great job in helping the baby turtles.

Thank you

Libby (aged 6)

Friends of Calhau & FC Panthers start a protection campaign

2010-09-01T12:43:00.000-02:00

News reaches us that Friends of Calhau, a small settlement on the east coast of São Vicente is starting a campaign to protect nesting turtles.

From September 1, 2010, the two associations will have a camp in Praia Grande with the aim of not only monitoring the species and protecting their nests, but also to raise awareness of the importance of preserving this species.

It is estimated that nowadays only 1% of Cape Verde's turtles are found nesting on São Vicente, a figure much lower than in previous years, highlighting the urgent need for more protection.

This activity is funded by the GEF (Global Environment Facility).

SOS congratulates our colleagues on this action and wish them every success!
Amigos do Calhau

Hatchling season well under way

2010-09-01T09:13:00.000-02:00

Hattie releases 43 newly born turtles

Yesterday was a great day if you like baby turtles! During an afternoon patrol on the beach we found two hatched nests. One still had 43 turtles inside, all of them trapped by a big rock in the middle of the nest.

The second one had also hatched the previous night and a surfer called Clovis had found 12 babies at the back of the beach, all were dead from dehydration and exhaustion. Tracing their tracks back, he had opened the nest and found another 35 inside and he immediately put them in the sea. There were 25 unaccounted for and it was clear that none of them had gone the right way, but instead had followed the bright lights of Santa Maria and in particular the new residential zone of Antonio de Sousa.

A hatch nest with tracks to the sea

Meanwhile at the main hatchery, a nest exploded with 50 babies during evening while there were still plenty of people around to watch.

At this time of year we have afternoon patrols to mark and find nests - you can clearly see when a nest has hatched as there will be a mass of little tracks - hopefully going towards the sea. Anyone can join on these patrols, just send an email on info@turtlesos.org if you would like to help.

Little turtles rescued

2010-08-25T15:21:00.000-02:00

Thanks to Lacey from Blu Bar and her niece these hatchlings were safely returned to the sea in Santa Maria yesterday. The little turtles were found wandering around in Pedra da Lume. The little girl was happy to see them go in the sea and will receive an adoption certificate to commemorate the occasion.

Project Vito forced to stop working on Fogo beach

2010-08-22T09:47:00.001-02:00

One of our colleagues, Silvana Roque, who heads up the turtle conservation project on Fogo, has been forced to admit defeat on one of the main turtle nesting beaches.

Asemana report on Fogo sand mining

Sadly, the President of the Camara Municipal has authorised sand extraction and forty lorries a day are reported to visit the beach every day to destroy this vital habitat. This is, of course, against the law. The President has also chosen to publicly attack the work done by Project Vito and to post guards on the beach to prevent turtles coming ashore.

In the face of this opposition, Silvana has decided to direct her attention to the other beaches on Fogo. It seems that no one in government or law enforcement is prepared to stop this gross and immoral breach of the law, including the Minister for the Environment who was recently in Fogo.

78% success rate from the first hatchery nest

2010-08-20T10:26:00.000-02:00

It's always an anxious wait during the days the first hatchery nest is due to hatch. Did we do it right? Is the sand ok? Will we get any babies?!!

The nest started to dip in the middle (indicating movement below) some days ago but each night our checks revealed no little heads poking through, until finally on Wednesday at 21h just as the Rangers arrived at the hatchery the sand trembled and forty seven babies burst on to the surface.

The nest had incubated for 60 days which is average for the start of the season and the little turtles were released shortly after in front of our guests on the turtle walk on Algodoiero - an unexpected bonus for them!

The next day, in front of a full house, Neal explained our work while Hattie and Ben opened the nest to see what remained. Luckily for everyone there, a further 13 hatchlings were still in the nest, giving a total of 60 turtles from 77 eggs (78% which is a great result).

The nest was previously adopted by the Camara Municipal do Sal.

The next nest is due in a few days.

To see hatchlings, adopt turtles, book walks or meet the Rangers visit the hatchery outside the RIU beach between 16h and 18h every day.

Data so far shows decrease in turtles killed on Sal

2010-08-13T10:28:00.000-02:00

The latest figures for June and July show that 2010 is slightly busier than 2008 but much lower than 2009. However great progress has been made in decreasing the mortality of turtles and increasing the number of saved turtles.

A new scientific paper published about our work

2010-08-12T09:10:00.000-02:00

The loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) on Sal Island, Cape Verde: nesting activity and beach surveillance in 2009 SÍLVIA P. P. LINO1,2, E. GONÇALVES3 and J. COZENS2

Hatchling season has begun!

2010-08-10T11:39:00.000-02:00

The first two nests of the year have hatched. Nest 1 in Surf Beach Hatchery began hatching on the 5th August 57 days after it was laid (average incubation period) and had a stunning success of 92%. Congratulations to Tim at Rhooms who is now the proud Dad of 109 baby loggerhead turtles!

The second nest hatched last night with (so far) 46 hatchlings born at 11pm. The lucky people on the turtle walk on Costa Fragata were able to see them go into the sea at the end of their tour.

Excavation of the nest will take place at 17h this afternoon for those on Sal who would like to see some hatchlings.

Euclides Gonçalves (City Hall of Sal) speaks out against leniency towards people killing turtles

2010-08-09T15:24:00.000-02:00

Os ambientalistas estão inconformados com a forma como está a se lidar com os crimes ambientais na ilha do Sal. O protesto é contra a “impunidade” em que navegam os caçadores de tartaruga, que todos os dias caçam, matam, vendem e consomem esta espécie símbolo dos mares de Cabo Verde, entretanto em extinção no mundo.

De acordo com Euclides Gonçalves, director de saneamento da Câmara Municipal do Sal e um dos principais defensores do meio ambiente da ilha, até Julho mais de 426 tartarugas deram às costas do Sal para a desova. Destas, 26 foram mortas. Um número muito elevado para uma ilha que está há largos anos tenta sensibilizar as pessoas contra esta prática.

Segundo Gonçalves, que fala em nome de todos os ambientalistas do Sal, cerca de 12 pessoas já foram autuadas por crimes contra o ambiente, neste caso, pela caça de tartarugas. Até agora, afirma, apenas um julgamento aconteceu, envolvendo 3 suspeitos.

O pior, lamenta Euclides, “é que a estes prevaricadores só foram aplicadas multas de 10 mil escudos. E veja: se matam a tartaruga e vendem a sua carne por mais de 30 contos, acabam por sair no lucro, mesmo pagando 10 10 contos de multa”.

A sensação que se tem, diz o responsável pelo gabinete de saneamento da CMS, é de impunidade. “Usamos o dinheiro público para fazer o trabalho de protecção e preservação das tartarugas e os prevaricadores continuam a praticar este crime impunemente”, contesta. E aconselha: “Se calhar seria muito mais proveitoso puni-los com serviço social, ou até mesmo colocá-los nas praias, para junto com a organizações fazer o trabalho de protecção”.

Euclides Gonçalves aponta o dedo às autoridades, acusando-os de não se preocuparem com esta matéria de preservação das tartarugas, “símbolo do paraíso cabo-verdiano”. “Se não vejamos: para o Sal, este ano foram disponibilizados apenas 300 contos para o projecto de protecção e preservação das tartarugas. Recentemente, a Câmara do Fogo autorizou a apanha de areia em Fonte Bila, uma das principais praias de desova da ilha. Todos anos surgem obras grandes nas praias do país”. No fundo, completa Gonçalves, estes exemplos mostram o descaso com que as autoridades deste país estão a tratar o ambiente.

A pergunta que se coloca é: “vale a pena continuar a fazer esse trabalho, quando é pública e notória a destruição dos habitats, enquanto as autoridades parecem não estar nem aí para esta espécie rara no mundo, e que nós temos o privilégio de ter em abundância no nosso mar e nas nossas praias. Se calhar daqui a algum tempo vão pensar doutra forma. Só espero que não seja tarde demais”, lança o ambientalista.

Strange days indeed...

2010-07-31T10:06:00.000-02:00

8.30am Phone rings, the police have a turtle in the station. Fly out the door thinking it's a live turtle that has been recovered - no such luck - it's the remains of a turtle, everything but the meat which is already on it's way to be sold. The night before, our Rangers alerted the military on the beach that there was a turtle taken on Costa Fragata, the military called the police and together they found the culprits. Unfortunately it was too late for the turtle. Once again we are required to take photos for evidence and to our dismay we see that one of them is a guy called Gongon, who was caught, fined and released only a couple of weeks ago. So the entire system works except the judiciary who are giving paltry fines and sending the criminals straight back out with a suspended sentence. Surely now, they will go to jail?

10am A call from the Camara Municipal - someone has reported that a turtle nest has appeared on the beach in front of Porto Antigo - it has a huge cage around it - was it something to do with us and should it have been left there? Go round to see it and the mystery grows - it's nothing to do with us - how did it get there? The Camara Municipal ask me to call the police since interference with a nesting turtle or the eggs is a crime unless you are authorised, but I ask for some time to find out the full story.

11am A third call, this time from Neptunus (yellow sub), they have a turtle, can we come right away. Get down to the pier and climb aboard. They have a female loggerhead turtle - she is obviously very sick with bulging eyes and abnormally yellow skin. She was found floating around Ponta Sino, unable to dive down and clearly exhausted. She needs to be assessed and given some time to rest. Formulate a plan and the whole team swings into action. Neal goes down to ask Josh Angulo if we can use their small pool, we are very happy that he agrees. Someone else calls Fatima, our wonderful vet, who is always ready to help us. Odessia (watersports company by the pier) kindly suggest the use of their quad and trailer to bring her to the road and Tony, a pick up driver is waiting to drive her to the far end of Santa Maria. Meanwhile, Hattie, Chris & Carolyne are having all kinds of difficulties. A man called Mingos will not allow any of our team near the turtle, shouting and screaming 'I know what you do, I know all about your project. this is my land, this is my turtle' etc etc. By this time there are hordes of people surrounding the poor turtle. The outcome? Hattie is pushed out of the way and the turtle is returned to the sea to who knows what fate. It had been explained to Mingos that the turtle was sick and needed help, but Mingos was determined to create a problem and stirred up a mini riot that we were powerless to prevent. The only upside? After thinks had calmed down, we found a few more sympathetic Capeverdian men who want to help.

Never a dull moment ....

Extracts from last night's log (Four turtles saved, much craziness)

2010-07-25T12:23:00.000-02:00

Beach at Serra Negra

Hattie (Serra Negra 9pm-1am) : "OMG what a night.... JC & I decided to do a short patrol on SN. On our way over we saw lights, not a good thing, then when we arrived we saw a truck, really not a good thing. JC & I walked quickly towards poacher heaven, Bay 3. When we got there we found a few more people than we were expecting - around eight people sitting in the cave with a lot of supplies and cooler boxes, really set up for the night. Sat there for a while then watched from the top of the cliff. See another guy on Bay 2 and decide to go back to Bay 1 to get phone reception and call for back up. Hear all about the two flipped turtles on Algodoeiro and call Neal to deal with that. Rush back to Bay 3 and find two of the hunters calmly watching a nesting turtle. Talk quietly to them to explain what we are doing when we tag her and try to get them to name her, no go, so Jacquie names her 'Double-date. ' Drunk guy starts tickling my feet - very not cool, move away. He then starts throwing sand everywhere trying to help the turtle to cover up, then when she stops he follows her down pointing at the sea and shouting "go, go, go"!!! You would expect that to be the end of the story, but no, he comes back up the beach, lies on her nest and fills in her body pit. He looked like a huge turtle, so funny. Ben and Pilar arrive and take over drunk-watch. Apparently Francesco and the police came but they didn't find us, so obviously they left even though the quad was there and the truck "

Pilar (Serra Negra 1am-6am) : "My first patrol. Al the interesting stuff happened at the beginning of the night when Ben woke me up three hours earlier than expected and told me there was an emergency at SN. After waiting for the police and talking with some guys who explained to us what turtle eggs tasted like, we finally went alone. The night consisted of walking, sitting, walking... we saw nothing, literally nothing, the sky was full of clouds and I found it hard to recognise my feet."
Nerissa (Walking Algodoeiro with tourists) : "An action packed night which at present is still continuing to unfold. Saw three dodgy looking characters, one was walking around at the back. Janice and Chris went to investigate and found a flipped turtle (still intact and very much alive). We tagged, flipped her over and got her back to the sea. As we were leaving Neal phoned and said there was a second flipped turtle near us. A very happy group of tourists who were very helpful and supportive of our actions."

Saved turtle on Algodoeiro

James (Algodoiero 9pm - 6am) : Well... a very interesting night, I am very tired so I will just stick to the facts. Heard that Nerissa had an upside down turtle, helped her and then Victor said he heard bottles rattling. Went to check it out and there she was, a turtle underneath a large sheet. We untangled her, flipped her over and sent her on her way. Three men near the left soon after we arrived.
Carolyne (Costa Fragata 1am-6am) : Reached Fridge and found turtle tracks up but not down. Stef explained everything, tagged the turtle and we walked her back to the sea. More tracks on Ponta Jelonga and messy tracks and lots of footprints. Stef followed the track to find an upside down turtle. She hadn't been harmed but was obviously in some distress. Stef tagged her, we turned her over and watched her go back to the sea... v. slowly & in the wrong direction, at least the long way round!!!
Hattie (Morning patrol 6am - 9am) : Very tired. After only two hours sleep I was woken at 5am by Stef, another upside down turtle .... seriously?? No luck getting hold of anyone at the police. Rubbish! Told Stef to just tag her and flip her back and put her back in the sea. Ben and Pilar arrive safely back from Serra Negra, no more drama. End of long night but what a fantastic success!!!

Thomson gives a helping hand

2010-07-23T10:44:00.000-02:00

Following our appeal for tents for the soldiers, we managed to purchase six tents from the UK and Thomson have kindly agreed to ship them free of charge. Thanks a lot! Also thanks to Peter and Linda for taking them to the airport.

Two more turtles saved on Serra Negra

2010-07-22T10:11:00.000-02:00

A hunter was out last night on Serra Negra and had managed to turn two turtles upside down before our intrepid Rangers, Ben & Laura managed to scare him off. He had already begun the grisly job of butchering one of them while she was still alive. He had already inflicted a cut down the centre of her abdomen and had started to saw off her flippers when he was disturbed. She was returned to the sea but was obviously in a great deal of shock and pain and for a while could not manage to float the right way up or swim. The second turtle was returned unharmed to the sea.

The hunter was obviously intent on staying the whole night as he had brought food, coffee and plenty of clothing. He had also been studying the way we work and had attempted to fake a track back to the sea, even bringing a bush from another part of the beach and covering the upside down turtle with it.

Unfortunately for him he ran off without his belongings and these are now in police custody as evidence. The police believe they know who the culprit is and will be interviewing him later.

Neal and our newest Ranger, Fogo at the police station with the hunter's belongings

The state of our beaches

2010-07-21T07:14:00.000-02:00

Mass destruction of beaches on the west coast of Sal. No good for people or turtles.

A new network for turtle protection in Cape Verde

2010-07-18T07:23:00.000-02:00

At the end of June the second conference of people and organisations active in turtle conservation in Cabo Verde took place in Boa Vista. The network was christened 'Taola' - a combination of "Tartaruga Marinha" (marine turtle) and "Krioula" (the language spoken here).

Amongst the many issues discussed, the removal of sand from beaches for construction was high up on the agenda and following the conference this practice has been thrown into the spotlight.

Despite laws prohibited this activity, the Municipal Chamber of São Filipe on Fogo is allowing building companies to scoop up large amounts of sand from one of the few beaches remaining on which turtles can nest.

In the first joint action of the group, Taola has issued a statement calling for this practice to cease immediately and asking the Municipal Chamber to "Not just be a signatory of the Convention of Biological Diversity but to actually put into practice actions which allow the protection of endangered species"