In Cape Verde, the campaign for sea turtles continues
Published on 9 July 2024In Cabo Verde, the municipality of Tarrafal on the island of Santiago is an important area for loggerhead sea turtle nesting (as a reminder, the country is now the world’s leading site in terms of numbers of loggerhead turtle nests). However, the nesting beaches have not been monitored or conserved for many years in this municipality.
The NGO Lantuna has made a number of observations, including numerous cases of illegal capture, predation by crabs and dogs, and flooding of certain nests during high tides.
To mitigate these threats, with the support of the national authorities and foreign institutions such as the PPI, Lantuna has set up conservation actions on the municipality’s main beaches: Ribeira da Prata, Mangue, Prosela and Medronho. During the nesting season, from June to November, surveillance patrols are carried out on the beaches on a daily basis, at-risk nests are moved to hatcheries in protected areas of the beach, guards and volunteers are trained, and environmental education is provided for residents and visitors, as the municipality is very popular for tourists. Local and international volunteers are also involved in these actions. In addition, to help improve the living conditions of local communities, Lantuna has set up an accommodation programme for volunteers who are not originally from the Lantuna area and has employed local guards to monitor the beaches.
Conservation activities have already begun for this 2024 season and teams are already on the ground monitoring the municipality’s four main nesting beaches. Let’s hope for a good season, with a high hatchling rate and a low adult turtle capture rate!
To follow Lantuna’s activities, visit its website (https://lantuna.org) and Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/lantunacv).