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It
is 5.45 a.m. The air is still and silent except for the
occasional screech of sandpiper and the soft sound of waves
rolling up the beach. As the pale inky sky blushes red, a
small we smile, relieved.
We are at Kifinge bay a long sweeping stretch of sand within
the Mafia Island Marine Park on the east coast of Mafia
Island. I am with Omari Abdalla and Omari Baruti who are
assisting with research on turtles on Mafia Island and who
have been monitoring nest on k5 since large Green turtle
laid it 68 days previously.
A few moments later a small head emerges, gulping air and
looking about with uncertainty. Within half an hour the
beach is dotted with tiny turtles propelling themselves
forward awkwardly by their front flippers. We guard the
young turtle hatchlings on their short but perilous passage
from the top of the beach into the sea. Amazingly, only 1 in
10,000 turtles are estimated to reach adulthood, so our
effort is but a small contribution towards their chances of
survival.
The first hatchling reaches the water's edge,
pauses for a few seconds and then launches itself into the
gently lapping waves and out to sea. 96 hatchlings follow
suit and if they are not eaten by fish or caught in fishing
nets, it will be another 20 - 30 years before the females
amongst them return to Kifinge bay to nest themselves.
Monitoring turtle nests is just one activity of the Mafia Island Turtle and Dugong Conservation Programme, initiated in January 2001. The principle turtle nesting sites along the Mafia's beaches have been identified in partnership with local communities and in collaboration with the Mafia Island Marine Park (MIMP) management and the Mafia District Council (Natural Resources and Education offices) a database has been established to store information on nest numbers, species, nesting frequency, hatchling success and types and level of threats.
A turtle-tagging programme has also been initiated. Already in the past 12 months, 60 turtle nests have been recorded within Mafia Island Marine Park. The village turtle protection officers that work with the project, resulting in the successful hatching of over 1000 young green and hawksbill turtles, have scrupulously guarded these.
Education and awareness of turtle and dugong conservation is an important component undertaken by the Programme, as both species are rare and threatened. Interviews and discussions have been held with approximately 200 fishermen from 14 villages on mafia to teach them about turtles and dugong and learn more about their place in local customs and culture.
School has also been targeted. Between July and September 2001, over 7000 pupils and 150 teachers from 21 primary schools in Mafia took part in an educational and painting competition on turtles and dugongs. Paintings by 250 school children were judged and the winning design is now printed on the programme T-shirt.
Ibrahim Farjallah, a 12-year-old student of Kilindoni Primary School was declared the overlla district winner. Honorable Abdulkarim Ismail, MP for Mafia District Constituency, graced the event at ceremony-conducted students, teachers, local community members and district officials from all over the island. Ibrahim received a bicycle and the other 23 finalists also received prizes of a tailor-made school uniform and shoes
There are five species of turtles in the Western Indian Ocean: Green, Hawksbill, Loggerhead, Olive Ridley and Leatherback. Only Green and Hawksbill turtles are known to nest at Mafia, but the other 3 species all visit Mafia's waters to feed. All 5 species are endangered due to capture in fishing nets, hunting for meat and shells, poaching of eggs and habitat disturbance
Mafia Island Marine Park has long been recognized as an important turtle feeding and nesting site but information on numbers, distribution and status has been lacking until now. In fact, there is a large gap in terms of both information and conservation action along the Tanzania mainland coast.
However, through the efforts of the programme at Mafia Island Marine Park, as well as initiatives in Pemba, Unguja and Bagamoyo, these holes are slowly being filled. The information on turtles currently being gathered in Tanzania is also being fed into a broader regional data network, linking similar research and conservation progtammes in Kenya and Mozambique. Such a regional perspective is essential because turtles move such long distances between feeding and nesting grounds
A gentle breeze is already ruffling the water as the last hatchling reaches the sea. We return to the nest to check for unhatched or rotten eggs, which are counted and recorded so that this information can be entered into the database.
Nest K6 at Kifinge Bay is not due to hatch for several weeks which gives us time to check up on nesting activity from other parts of the island. Although threats to turtles been achieved through the cooperation and support of Mafia Island Marine Park, local communities, District officials as well as the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Born Free Foundation, Body shop foundation and the SEA Trust who are co-funding the programme.
We thank them all. As such, the long timers survival of turtles at Mafia Island remains hopeful, provided they are protected in the other parts of their range throughout the western Indian Ocean. Turtle conservation is truly an international team effort!
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