Devastating discovery further drives our purpose
Esther Jacobs ??
Conservation Storyteller ~ Advocate for Nature ~ Aquaphile ~ A Scot in South Africa ????????
A sad start to 2024 is giving me even more determination in the year ahead
My resolution for this year is much like 2023’s… to keep going full throttle with our mission to protect turtles and other marine life, and to strive for a cleaner, healthier ocean.
I’ll start with the good news
Earth Legacy Foundation's container of pottery equipment finally arrived in Mozambique! We’ll soon be able to plough ahead with establishing our workshop. With the help of Tom Dailey, our ceramic engineer, we want to set it up in the next couple of months to offer skills development to locals. We’ll start by sourcing and extracting the clay deposits in the area, then find interested locals to train them in processing and treating it, to turn it into usable clay.
Our next step will be to find people from the community with an artistic flair to create items that we will aim to sell locally in Maputo, and South Africa, then eventually in the USA and Europe.
The ultimate goal of this project is to train the local community in every aspect of the ceramic process. The potential for this project extends beyond creating work for hands-on skilled trade. The initiative will become a platform, from which, we can teach people from the local community a whole range of industry skills, including supply chain management, sales and marketing.
How will this help turtles?
Local communities take turtles to use their meat and eggs for subsistence. These often impoverished communities value these easily obtainable animals as a source of protein. We are offering initiatives that present an alternative to poaching, and will provide an income stream for locals to support their families.
And the grim news...
We were hit with a sombre reality check recently, at the hands of deadly ghost gear. Ghost gear is fishing gear that has been lost or thrown away is considered one of the "main types of debris impacting the marine environment today."
As distressing as it is to see, I am sharing this story with you to try and spread more awareness of the threats to vulnerable turtles, and to promote responsible fishing to safeguard all marine life.
This endangered young adult female green turtle washed up on South Africa’s south coast and its cause of death was highly apparent. It was entangled in meters of thick fishing line tightly wrapped around its neck and front flippers. I collected data for the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation’s records with the help of Mossel Bay’s Stranded Marine Animal Rescue Team.
The fisheries industry is reportedly the most impactful and primary cause of many declining populations of sea turtles. It is estimated to contribute to the death of thousands, to tens of thousands of these animals annually. This type of fishing line I found wrapped around this turtle’s neck is predominantly used when targeting large shark species. It was 60 lb braided line, which is made from extremely durable woven fibres of polyethylene, with no stretch. Great for anglers, as it’s less likely to break off, but deadly for marine life when it is lost.
Historically, fishing gear was made from naturally occurring materials such as jute, coconut, palm leaves, or bamboo.
These break down quickly in the oceans. Since the 1950s, fishers around the world have switched to gear made from synthetics that can last for centuries in ocean water.
领英推荐
It was a heartbreaking discovery of one of the ocean’s most charismatic creatures' lives ending in tragedy at the hands of humans.
Turtles play a crucial role in balancing the marine ecosystem and this finding highlights the urgent need to address fishing methods. We wait with anticipation for the international treaty to end plastic pollution’s decision in April. We hope that far more stringent measures are placed on the fishing industry to take responsibility for the full lifecycle of gear, and to implement the use of biodegradable fishing gear.
The entanglement of marine turtles in ghost gear is a significant but understudied cause of turtle mortality and habitat threats, especially in the Indian Ocean.
Learn more about turtles
Are you as obsessed with sea turtles as we are? Are you keen to learn more about them and how to identify the different species?
Find out more on the Saving Sea Turtles page of our website and sign up to our newsletter to download our FREE turtle guide.
References
Dedicated conservation manager
2 年Are you looking for an environmental officer at any of you locations?