Threats to Marine Animals & Conservation

[Lisbeth]

Experts seek answers for bronze whaler shark strandings on Eastern Cape beaches


A bronze whaler shark found in Cove Rock in East London on 1 May 2022. (Photo: Kevin Cole)

By Tembile Sgqolana | 07 Jun 2022

Scientists are trying to find out what is causing the stranding of bronze whaler sharks on Eastern Cape shores between East London and Jeffrey’s Bay.
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Scientists from the eastern and southern coasts of South Africa are working tirelessly to find out what caused the sudden stranding of close to 50 bronze whaler sharks between East London and Jeffrey’s Bay in less than three months.

The bronze whaler sharks are listed as near-threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature list as they are often targeted in commercial and recreational fishing for their meat.

Since late March this year, people have been reporting stranded bronze whaler sharks on the beaches of East London and Jeffrey’s Bay.

East London museum scientist Dr Kevin Cole, shark expert Dr Matt Dicken from the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board, Bayworld marine biologist Dr Greg Hofmeyr and Dr Malcolm Smale, a retired Bayworld scientist, have put their heads together to find out why the sharks are coming ashore.

Cole said from 30 March to date, the tally has climbed for the number of adult bronze whaler sharks reported stranded on beaches in the Eastern Cape (mostly between Jeffrey’s Bay and East London).


A pregnant bronze whaler shark with 11 pups in Winterstrand on 6 May 2022. (Photo: Kevin Cole)

“In the East London area alone, the museum has investigated five bronze whalers, four females (two were pregnant) and a male. They showed no signs of physical trauma or bite marks. Other reports which have come in include a stranding at Hamburg and two in Chintsa Bay (Rooiwal and Bosbokstrand). The high seas this week have taken the Chintsa Bay carcasses back out to sea and they could not be investigated,” he said.

Cole said both were fresh specimens when reported, as noted by the photographic evidence.

“A female bronze whaler investigated at Glengarriff on 7 April 2022 had 15 pups and the second pregnant female at Winterstrand on 6 May 2022 had 11 pups. To date, scientists have not been able to determine the cause of death and a number of potential threats have been ruled out such as recreational mortality,” he said.

He said sampling of fresh carcasses will be ongoing for pathology and toxicology investigations.

“Members of the public are requested to report any strandings to the authorities and are cautioned not to eat the meat for health reasons,” he said.

Hofmeyr said that since March this year, about 50 sharks had washed ashore around East London and Jeffrey’s Bay.

“In almost two-and-a-half months there have been almost 50 sharks of the same species that have come ashore. The reason for them to come ashore is still not clear and it is unprecedented,” he said.

Hofmeyr said the sharks were washed ashore either dead or uncoordinated.

“There is a question of whether these animals have been caught by commercial fishing vessels and released. The other question is why there are no other shark species washed ashore. The other option is that there might be a disease,” he said.

He said all the sharks seem to be adults with an equal number of females and males.

“When we opened them up their stomachs were empty. These are top predators and their population is very low. The current status of copper sharks in South African waters is not known and they have been evaluated as near-threatened on the IUCN Red List (2003),” said Hofmeyr.

He said they are responding wherever someone reports a shark ashore.

“We need the information on why these sharks are dying. The post-mortems of the sharks revealed that they suffered no injuries or any signs of physical injury. We urge the public to report any shark strandings to the Bayworld and East London Museums,” he said.


Another bronze whaler shark found in Gonubie on 27 April 2022. (Photo: Kevin Cole)

Stranded sharks should be reported to the regional base of the Stranding Hotline at 071 724 2122.

Our Burning Planet asked for a comment from Dicken and Smale, but they had not responded by the time of publishing.

In his response to the Eastern Cape’s Daily Dispatch, Dicken said bronze whaler sharks followed the sardine run — a seasonal migration of fish followed by predators feasting on the large school — from the Eastern Cape coastline to the south coast in KwaZulu-Natal.

“Another potential cause could be ingesting poisoned fish. Shellfish poisoning from red tide algae, when the sardines eat the toxic algae, the sharks could die from neurotoxic poisoning. Neurotoxic algae produce domoic acid which can cause weakness, confusion and disorientation. But experts have been saying there aren’t any signs of red algal blooms and other species who eat sardines would be affected,” said Dicken.

He said having spoken to bacteriologists, some people think it could be a bacterial infection which is why one species is more susceptible to wash-ups.

“The only way to confirm that is to do an autopsy on fresh shark carcasses and take samples to test the eco-toxin. Samples have been collected but not processed to date,” he said. DM/OBP

[Lisbeth]

Long-suffering turtle’s tough 365 days from entanglement to recovery raises hope for her species


Nobomvu the loggerhead turtle was rescued on the shore at Gansbaai on 14 July 2021 after becoming entangled in a dumped fishing net. (Photo: Two Oceans Aquarium Education Foundation)

By Caryn Dolley | 27 Jul 2022

The resilience of a loggerhead turtle, along with ongoing rehabilitation since being rescued from a dumped fishing net in the Western Cape, could lead to her contributing to the species’ population.
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About a year ago a loggerhead turtle weighing about 50kg was discovered ashore along the coast of the Western Cape town of Gansbaai, entangled in an abandoned fishing net weighing roughly what she did.

A dozen or so people helped to get her from the beach to safety.

Now, just more than a year later, after two surgeries and nearly 600 tablets plus 3.5 litres of medication, the turtle named Nobomvu is still in a slow current towards recovery in Cape Town.

Loosely translated from isiXhosa, “Nobomvu” means “the red lady” – a suitable name for the turtle because tiny living micro-organisms gave her shell a red tint.

Two Oceans Aquarium conservation coordinator Talitha Noble told DM168 last week that Nobomvu was still in an effective turtle intensive care unit, which consisted of temperature-controlled tanks indoors and others beneath shade cloth on the aquarium’s roof.


Nobomvu is still undergoing treatment at the Two Oceans Aquarium more than a year after she was found entangled in a fishing net. (Photo: Two Oceans Aquarium Education Foundation)

Among her fellow patients in for rehabilitation was Bob, an endangered green turtle that has been cared for there since 2014, when he was discovered in poor health with a wound to the shell near his abdomen.

Contributing to the turtle population

If Nobomvu’s condition improves, she may end up in the same “ward” as Bob – a tank visible to aquarium visitors.

The goal is to get Nobomvu to full health and release her back into the ocean. She is a sexually mature female that can lay eggs. It is difficult to estimate the exact age of a turtle, but it is thought Nobomvu could be about 20 years old and possibly live until about 80. “She could contribute massively to the sea turtle population,” Noble explained.

Plastic, starvation and ghost gear

Loggerhead turtles are vulnerable to becoming endangered.

The World Wildlife Fund said that, compared with other turtles, they were less likely to be hunted for their shell or meat.


It is hoped that Nobomvu will recover enough to be released back into the ocean. (Photo: Two Oceans Aquarium Education Foundation)


Nobomvu at the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town. (Photo: Two Oceans Aquarium Education Foundation)

They face other problems, though, according to the fund. For example, as by-catch, which is the accidental capture of marine animals in fishing gear. It is “a serious problem for loggerhead turtles because they frequently come in contact with fisheries”.

Female leatherback and loggerhead turtles move from water to land and lay eggs on the shoreline towards the end of the year close to the Mozambique border.

Noble said these eggs hatch around January and hatchlings make their way to the sea and drift out in the warm Agulhas current, which slows down along the Western Cape coastline and gets colder.

The young turtles, each weighing only a few grams, face several challenges – dwindling food supplies owing to overfishing; they may ingest microplastics; they can become hypothermic and they can get caught up in ghost, or abandoned, fishing gear.

In the case of Nobomvu, the 50kg net she got stuck in hints at just how devastating and lasting the impact of a single piece of ghost gear can be.


Source:Two Oceans Aquarium Education Foundation

Saving stranded hatchlings

The Two Oceans Aquarium website explains how it is involved in trying to save hatchlings: “With the support of an extensive network of organisations and volunteers along the Western Cape’s coast, and many incredible donors, hundreds of sea turtles have been saved, reared to full strength and released back into the wild – with an incredible 85% success rate.”

This year, Noble said, 155 hatchlings were rescued from the Western Cape coastline and were taken in by the aquarium for rehabilitation.

“We provide specialised nutritional care,” she said, adding that “good-quality water” and food consisting of proteins, vitamins and vegetables were important.


‘Nobomvu’ means means ‘the red lady’ – apt because tiny living micro-organisms gave her shell a red tint. (Photo: Two Oceans Aquarium Education Foundation)

It cost more than R8,000 to care for an individual hatchling over six to nine months, after which they were released into the ocean again, “bigger and better”.

Other turtles, much larger and older than hatchlings, were also rescued and, when possible, released.

Long-suffering Nobomvu

In the case of Nobomvu, Noble said she initially responded well to treatment. But then an underlying issue was picked up.

“She had a really bad bone infection affecting her right shoulder.

“She was in pain and wasn’t using her flipper,” Noble said.

Medication was administered to try to treat this. However, another setback was identified.

“Inside the infection, a lump of tissue had grown,” Noble said.

This prevented the medication from working properly.

“She’s been on medication for a year, and she developed a skin condition,” Noble said. “She is the definition of long-suffering.”

For example, each time Nobomvu was injected, she had to be restrained.

Yet despite the tough time she had been through, she was showing incredible resilience and Noble was adamant there was reason for hope.

“Over the last month we’ve seen an improvement. There’s fresh bone tissue in her shoulder… [but] there’s still a long road to recovery.”


It’s been a tough road to recovery for Nobomvu, but she has shown incredible resilience. (Photo: Two Oceans Aquarium Education Foundation)

When she is eventually ready for release, Nobomvu will hopefully be fitted with a satellite tracker, as were three recently released juvenile loggerhead turtles.

Noble described turtles as “such remarkable ancient creatures that we don’t really understand”.

Even though they can breathe air, turtles only really make their way to land to lay their eggs. By tracking them, more knowledge could be gained about where and how they moved about and how those passages could be better protected.

Deep strength and hope

Noble said her work with turtles left her feeling “a great sense of responsibility and a great sense of hope”.

Reptiles did not make much sound and it was difficult to read them. “But I tell you what, each one is different.”

With Nobomvu, Noble had noticed “a strength and maturity” in her.

“I felt she was tired over the year. Drained. But she has this really deep strength that’s helped her survive to this point.” DM168

[Lisbeth]

Underwater noise is a threat to marine life

Published: January 17, 2023 1.31pm CET - Graeme Shannon, Lecturer in Zoology, Bangor University


A pod of dolphins surfacing next a boat in the Gulf of Mexico. Erik S. Lesser/EPA

Oceans are full of sound. Waves, earthquakes and calving icebergs all contribute to the underwater soundscape. But so do human activities, and this can be a problem for marine life as it can seriously affect their physiology, behaviour, reproduction and even survival.

Being able to produce and detect sound in an environment where light penetrates only a few hundred metres is crucial for animals to communicate, feed, avoid predators and navigate vast underwater habitats. Large whales generate low frequency communication calls that can travel thousands of kilometres. While the snapping shrimp, native to the western Atlantic, can produce a loud snapping sound capable of stunning and killing its prey.

The noise generated by humans changes the natural acoustic environment of our oceans and our capacity to produce it is increasing. Noise is often the unintentional byproduct of transport, infrastructure development and industry.

Yet noise can also be produced deliberately. Many navies use sonar to detect ships and submarines, while geologists survey the seabed for oil and gas using seismic airguns. The noise produced by an airgun can exceed 200 decibels (louder than a gunshot at a range of one metre).

Sound travels further and four times faster in water than in air (at a speed of almost 1,500 metres per second). The noise produced by humans can therefore spread considerable distances underwater. These sounds can be relatively constant, such as the noise produced by a ship’s engine and propeller, or sudden and acute in the case of naval sonar and seismic airguns.

Can noise kill?

The sound produced by a seismic airgun can cause permanent hearing loss, tissue damage and even death in nearby animals.

Evidence for the lethal effects of noise can be hard to document in the open ocean. But seismic surveys have been linked to the mass mortality of squid and zooplankton. In 2017, research revealed that a single air gun caused the death rate of zooplankton to increase from 18% to 40–60% over a 1.2 kilometre stretch of the ocean off the coast of southern Tasmania.

The use of naval sonar has also been associated with the mass stranding of several whale species in the Caribbean, Europe and East Asia. Mass stranding events involve entire pods of animals simultaneously beaching themselves.

Examination of the dead whales revealed they had suffered trauma similar to decompression sickness. This was believed to have been caused by sudden changes in their deep diving behaviour following exposure to sonar.


Three people taking a photo of a beached sperm whale.
Mass stranding events have been linked to the use of naval sonar. Remko de Waal/EPA

Arrested development

Over the past two decades, research has also revealed the widespread impact of chronic noise exposure on animal behaviour and physiology. These impacts can extend well beyond the noise source and affect vast areas of the ocean.

Laboratory studies on the sea hare – a marine slug – revealed that exposure to boat noise led to a 21% reduction in successful embryo development. Individuals that hatched also suffered a 22% higher death rate than sea hares that were not exposed to boat noise.

These findings demonstrate the negative effects that a common source of underwater noise can have on animal development and survival. If these laboratory results can be applied to natural environments then such impacts could threaten entire populations of marine species in particular areas.


Embryonic development in sea hares was reduced when exposed to boat noise. Vojce/Shutterstock

Disrupted behaviour

Observing the movements, feeding, communication, resting and social interactions of animals provides scientists with a method for exploring the effects of noise.

The behavioural impacts of noise on marine mammals are particularly well studied due to conservation concerns and their reliance on sound for communication, foraging and navigation. Many of these species move large distances and long-range communication is crucial for coordinating social interactions and reproduction.

But the sounds produced by large marine mammals are of a similar low frequency range to much of the noise produced by humans. The noise produced by ships tends to be below 2 kHz which overlaps with the vocal frequencies produced by many large mammals. Blue whales, for example, produce frequency vocalisations of less than 100 Hz meaning their calls can be lost in the background din.

Shipping noise has led to marine mammals altering their vocalisation patterns. This includes making calls longer and more repetitive or waiting until noise levels drop before calling. Research has shown that shipping noise made within 1,200 metres of humpback whales has caused the whales to either reduce or stop their calling in the waters surrounding the remote Ogasawara Islands in Japan.

Despite these vocal adaptations, noise can negatively affect animals’ feeding behaviour and increase physiological stress. Research found that a reduction in shipping following the 9/11 terrorist attacks led to a six decibel drop in noise levels in the Bay of Fundy on Canada’s Atlantic coast. This coincided with lower levels of physiological stress detected in North Atlantic right whales when researchers measured stress hormones from floating whale faeces.

The COVID-19 lockdowns also led to previously busy waterways being used more frequently by large marine animals. For example, dolphin numbers – including the endangered pink dolphin – increased in the waters around Hong Kong following temporary restrictions on ferry traffic.


Travel restrictions saw numbers of endangered dolphins increase near Hong Kong. Jerome Favre/EPA

Noisy oceans are having a profound negative impact on marine life. Taking action to protect and restore natural soundscapes is a key priority for conservation.

The good news is that noise is removed from the environment as soon as the sound source is switched off or turned down. Technological developments in ship design, such as reduced propellor cavitation (the formation of air bubbles on the surface of a propeller), have already lowered the noise produced by ships.

Small adjustments in speed can also substantially lower engine and propeller noise. Research has found that a 15.6 to 13.8 knot reduction in the average speed of commercial ships can reduce underwater noise pollution by more than 50%.

But global awareness of the impact of noise on ocean health needs improving and policies aimed at managing sound and implementing technological solutions must be more rigorous. These are readily available solutions that promise a brighter – and quieter – future for our oceans.

[Lisbeth]

Recovering southern right whales face new challenge as crucial marginal ice diminishes in foraging grounds


A southern right whale mother and calf. Research shows that South African female southern right whales are taking longer to reproduce and have become skinnier. (Photo: UP - Mammal Research Institute Whale Unit)

By Julia Evans | 26 Jul 2023

While formerly critically endangered southern right whales are on the way to recovery thanks to legal bans on whaling, female southern right whales off South Africa are becoming skinnier, taking longer to breed, and swimming further to find food – all of which coincides with a changing climate.
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Today there are 80% fewer southern right whales than there were in the 18th century when whaling began. The species is starting to recover, but researchers in South Africa have noticed that a changing climate is coinciding with the whales’ ability to reproduce and their foraging and migration behaviour.

Dr Els Vermeulen, the research manager of the Mammal Research Institute Whale Unit at the University of Pretoria, explained that the name of the species came about because they are the “right” whales to hunt – they are slow-swimming, swim close to the shore and their behaviour is predictable.

“I find them now the ‘right’ whales to study for the same exact reasons,” Vermeulen said at the second Plett Marine Science Symposium earlier this month.

Right whales were the first whales to be hunted by whalers. Between the late 18th century and the start of the 20th century, more than 1,500 southern right whales were killed by open-boat whaling off the shores of southern Africa.


A breaching southern right whale in Hermanus. (Photo: UP – Mammal Research Institute Whale Unit)

Between 1908 and 1975, during the era of commercial whaling, only 105 southern right whales were killed – when the population was near extinction, with only an estimated 60 reproducing females left in the world.

The species was saved when whales were legally protected in 1935 by the International Whaling Commission, but because of their slow reproduction cycle (and illegal Soviet whaling between the 1950s and 1970s), there was a 100-year delay in their recovery.

“This is really a conservation success story. It really showed that internationally, we protected these whales and the populations are thriving now,” said Vermeulen.

The global population of southern rights is increasing by about 7% a year, which is the maximum biologically possible for the species. The latest population estimate, which is outdated (new global estimates are in the works), is approximately 15,000 animals – which is only 20% of the pre-exploitation levels.

And it seems the threats to the species are not over yet.

‘Site fidelity’

“Generally speaking, the animals go back to the same areas where they have been feeding, basically what their moms told them to do or taught them to do,” Vermeulen said.

Researchers believe these whales typically have a “site fidelity” to their foraging grounds, which are in the Southern Ocean. Every year, they return from their foraging grounds in the Southern Ocean to their breeding grounds, which include South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand.

Southern right whales have a slow reproduction cycle, and take three years to produce a healthy calf (one year for pregnancy, one for nursing and one to rest).


Vermeulen said that these trajectories are not that normal – it’s odd behaviour that Cyclopia (green line) has swum all the way to South America, and strange that the other whales are staying in the mid-latitudes. They originally went South (typical foraging grounds), but swam back up to the mid-latitudes, be a more stable region, but maybe not as productive as more Southern regions.

But Vermeulen and her Whale Unit have found that in the past decade, southern right whales have had longer breeding cycles, are returning to the breeding ground skinnier and are not going to the Southern Ocean to forage for food.

Population tracking

Researchers have been tracking and documenting whale populations in South Africa for more than 4o years.

Peter Best, the founding father of whale research in Africa, started counting southern right whales in 1969 from an aeroplane, a method he used for a decade.

The first helicopter survey of the whales in South Africa was in 1979 and it’s the mode of aerial survey that researchers still use today.


Dr Els Vermeulen, research manager of the Mammal Research Institute Whale Unit at the University of Pretoria, during her unit’s annual aerial survey to catalogue southern right whale species in SA. (Photo: UP – Mammal Research Institute Whale Unit)

Every year in October, Vermeulen spends a week flying in a helicopter between Nature’s Valley in the southern Cape and Muizenberg in Cape Town, taking photos of every southern right whale she sees (focusing on mothers and calves).

Researchers recognise whales through their unique velocity patterns. They have catalogued 2,665 southern right whales in South Africa.

In 2022, the South African population was estimated to be 6,470 individuals, growing by about 6.5% per year.


The first helicopter survey started in South Africa in 1979 and it’s the mode of aerial survey researchers still use to catalogue whales today. (Photo: UP – Mammal Research Institute Whale Unit)

“The growing population sizes have impacts on the ecosystem, but also the removal of hundreds of thousands of baleen whales had an enormous impact on marine ecosystems,” Vermeulen said.

Going somewhere else to find food

To look at how the southern right whales’ feeding location and diet have changed over time, Vermuelen and her whale unit analysed stable isotopes in skin samples from the whales.

“Stable isotopes in the skin are basically little microchemical markers that show you where a whale has been feeding and what it’s been feeding on,” Vermeulen explained.

“And the results have shown that whales are feeding more north than they used to – we’re not seeing as many whales feeding in the southern region.”

Vermeulen said that the whales are going westward to find food.

The researchers used satellite tracking to find where the whales were foraging for food, and in 2021, put satellite transmitters on four southern right whales, two of which went to unexpected places.

“They went all the way to the southwest Atlantic,” Vermeulen said. “One even went to the Patagonian Shelf, which we didn’t know they would do. And that’s all females with a calf. So these are distances they haven’t done before, or at least we didn’t know them.”


This map shows the live location of 4 adult female southern right whales which were tagged in Walker Bay in October 2021.

While they still need more data, Vermeulen said that the original foraging grounds around Bouvet Island in the Southern Ocean are not being used as much. “And it kind of coincides with some of the data we have out of the skin, that their foraging location is changed,” Vermeulen.

Taking longer to reproduce

Vermuelen said while the animals are adopting different behaviours in response to changing conditions, they are reproducing at a slower rate, with the data since 2009 showing that the calving interval is increasing from a three-year cycle to four to five years for them to reproduce successfully.

“So even though they’re adapting, maybe it’s not enough,” Vermeulen said.

“If they can eat well, they can reproduce well,” which is not happening.

Getting skinnier

Using drones to take photos, Vermeulen and her team of researchers compared the body condition of the whales today to that of the whales in the 1980s, based on photos taken by Peter Best.

They determined that there had been a 24% reduction in the body condition of the mothers (lactating females).

“These females come here with already a quarter less of the body condition, the energy reserves, than they used to [have] in the late ’80s,” Vermeulen said.

“We also did a global comparison with the populations in Australia and Argentina, and South African mothers are the skinniest of them all.”

Changes coincide with environmental changes

Vermeulen and her team noticed that the area of marginal sea ice in the area around the whales’ previous foraging ground of Bouvet Island had shrunk significantly, diminishing the population of krill (small crustaceans that the whales feed on).

Vermeulen explained that marginal sea ice is ice between the continuous ice cover and the open ocean. “It’s ice that is very important… [for] krill larvae to grow.”

The decrease of this marginal ice in the past decade coincides with the changes the researchers have seen in the whale population.

Climate change?

While researchers can’t attribute it to climate change or global warming at this stage, Vermeulen said they’re looking into whether climate change is responsible.

“The aspect of the sea ice is the first thing we’ve discovered now. And we need to go deeper into that, like what is causing that sea ice to be less?”

But to look at the impact on climate, you need decades of data.

“Often people are not always keen on monitoring,” Vermeulen said. “But it really shows you that this long term is so critical to understand changes over time. We can’t look at climate change if we don’t have a long database of demographics.” DM

You can follow the whales' movements live here.

[Lisbeth]

Sea turtle population in deep water as West Africa poaching and trafficking thrive unpunished


The loggerhead, leatherback, hawksbill, green and olive ridley marine turtles are categorised between vulnerable and critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species. (Photo: Jeremy Bishop/Pexels.com)

By Abdelkader Abderrahmane | 22 Aug 2023

Sea turtles will remain a target unless viable alternative livelihoods are created for fisher communities.
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Over a million sea turtles were illegally killed or trafficked globally between 1990 and 2020, researchers estimate. To put this in perspective, there are roughly only 6.5 million sea turtles left in the world.

West Africa contributes significantly to their exploitation. In just one incident in June 2021, customs officers in Burkina Faso seized 555 sea turtles smuggled from Bamako in Mali and Lomé in Togo. It is estimated that up to 50% of sea turtle eggs in Togo are trafficked by local fishers.

While pollution, accidental fishing and climate change contribute to sea turtles’ decline along Africa’s coast, poaching and trafficking are the major drivers. Shells seized alongside elephant ivory in Togo and Benin indicate that sea turtles may form part of a well-organised wildlife trafficking network in West Africa, specifically in Togo, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.

The West African littoral is home to some of the world’s most important sea turtle nesting beaches, and five species along this coast risk extinction. The loggerhead, leatherback, hawksbill, green and olive ridley marine turtles are categorised between vulnerable and critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.

Read more in Daily Maverick: The trials, tribulations and joys of turtle liberation

Sea turtles are an essential resource for coastal communities. For thousands of years, they have been hunted for their meat, eggs, shell, skin and internal organs. In Togo, sea turtles are valued for their flesh and shell. Sea turtle products are used to make jewellery, handicrafts, cough syrup and oil for traditional medicine in many West African countries. Some believe turtle by-products have aphrodisiac properties.

Their trafficking is driven by personal use and local consumption. A lack of economic alternatives for coastal communities and a decrease in the fish stocks they rely on for food and income mean that sea turtle poaching has become a viable income source. As a result, a well-organised illegal market for turtle meat controlled by local poachers is thriving.

Poachers target the turtles at sea and hunt them and their nests on beaches. They are then trafficked along trade routes throughout the region — including Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Benin and Cameroon — where they are sold to traders at local markets.

Poaching impacts entire ecosystem

Sea turtle poaching threatens biodiversity. These animals play a major role in the marine ecosystem by preserving healthy seagrass beds, limiting marine sponge growth and keeping jellyfish populations in check. This is crucial for maintaining healthy coral reefs, which sustain and protect various fish species.

West African countries are aware of the problem. All members of the Economic Community of West African States are signatories to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. And although legislation exists to protect and preserve sea turtles in most West African jurisdictions, implementation is lacking.

Offenders caught poaching sea turtles receive only a warning, with no fine. Little is done to dissuade people from poaching, killing or selling sea turtles, or to tackle the illegal hunting and harvesting of their eggs.

Over the past 20 years, West African states have created marine protected areas such as the Bijol Islands in The Gambia and Ghana’s Keta Lagoon to protect sea turtles. However, authorities and local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) lack human and financial resources, and the technical means to monitor and protect these areas.

Patrols don’t have the staff or equipment to mark all nests, record their locations, or cover them with cages. International NGOs do this, which is neither financially sustainable nor politically appropriate in the long term.

In March 2022, African states organised the first African congress on sea turtles in Cotonou, Benin. Regional networks such as the West African Sea Turtle Conservation Network were created — a positive step towards better sea turtle management and a sign that governments intend to take the matter more seriously. Yet much more needs to be done.

West African states should partner with local NGOs to protect sea turtles from poaching and trafficking. This requires financial and technical resources, and an investment in public education. Information campaigns should remind local communities that hunting sea turtles will lead to their extinction and harm the entire marine ecosystem, threatening the incomes of fishers and their families. But sea turtles will remain a target unless other viable livelihood options are available.

Ecotourism lifeline

Côte d’Ivoire provides a good practice example, where Conservation des Espèces Marines (CEM) works with local NGOs and communities to develop ecotourism. This creates employment in the hotel and catering industries, and raises awareness among communities of sea turtles’ value.

CEM has helped provide services, such as installing solar-powered drinking-water supply systems, building local health centres and rebuilding primary schools. Working on these projects with inhabitants, many of whom were involved in sea turtle poaching or consumption, garners support for conservation. And with the help of local communities, Côte d’Ivoire created its first marine protected area for nesting turtles in Grand-Béréby.

Together with international and local NGOs – which play an invaluable role and should be supported – West Africa’s governments must drive the protection of sea turtles. Their potential extinction poses a significant threat to the region’s coastal ecosystems. DM

Abdelkader Abderrahmane, Enact Senior Researcher, West Africa, Institute for Security Studies (ISS).

Enact is funded by the European Union and implemented by the Institute for Security Studies in partnership with Interpol and the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime.

[Lisbeth]