The Threats to Sea Turtles
The northeast of Zanzibar is the home to a great variety of species, including marine turtles. Several years ago, dozens of Green & Hawksbill turtles were seen every day, yet, nowadays only a few remains. In Zanzibar, sea turtles are protected by both international and national legislation. Despite current laws, local communities are still predating them for their meat and eggs.
Why Sea Turtle are important?
They maintain marine habitats healthy and balanced the food web by controlling the abundance of other species. It is crucial to help the next generation of turtles to save the population in the region.
Sea Turtle Life Cycle
Sea turtles are air-breather reptiles that live most of their life in the ocean, but females come on the beach to nest every two or three years. They dig a cavity and lay between 50 to 200 eggs depending on the species. After 45 to 60 days, the hatchlings will emerge from the nest and dash toward the ocean. It will take between 20 and 35 years for hatchlings to reach sexual maturity. They will head back to where they were born to mate starting the cycle again.
Sea Turtle Nesting Project
We collect turtle nests in the northeast of Zanzibar in collaboration with the local communities. We relocate them to a secure area in order to protect them from poachers and natural threats. After 45-60 days, the eggs hatch and the hatchlings are released into the ocean in the next hour following their birth.
Our goal is to maximize their chance of survival by minimizing human interference.
Nests are collected at least once per week during the nesting season. We are expecting to relocate between 35 and 40 nests per year, representing approximately 4500 hatchlings released per year
