The Arafura and Timor Seas (ATS) are part of the North Australian Shelf large marine ecosystem, a tropical marine area located between the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The region extends from the Timor Sea to the Torres Strait and includes the Arafura Sea and the Gulf of Carpentaria. Bordering the Coral Triangle, epicenter of the…
This project on assessing the status, scope and trends of the legal and illegal international trade in marine turtles, its conservation impacts, management options and mitigation priorities contributes to the implementation of CITES Decisions 17.222 and 17.223 on Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and other marine turtles (Cheloniidae and Dermochelyidae). This project was undertaken in collaboration with…
Marine turtles are integral components of marine ecosystems in the Arabian region, and a conservation priority of national and regional conservation programmes, as their populations are globally under threat. Even though Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) are the most abundant sea turtle species in this region, a small number of protected areas exist which encompass different…
Pacific leatherback turtle populations have declined alarmingly over the past 25 years, and for management and recovery efforts to be effective, obtaining accurate estimates of current abundance and distribution of critical habitats is essential. In some locations there are summer nesting turtles which remain unstudied and which are of particular interest to conservationists today, as…
This project entails four inter-linked components to further the understanding of the biology and ecology of sea turtles in the SSME, upon which National policy decisions and the expansion of the Tri-National Network of Protected Areas may be based. Each component addresses critical biological and reproductive traits of turtles that have previously not been studied in the SSME, and together they form a cohesive research programme which complements National projects within the Sulu Sulawesi Tri-National Sea Turtle Corridor initiative
Nesting populations have been well documented in the Arabian Gulf, but scant information exists on foraging populations. Data on this dominant phase of their live cycle are critical to determine how turtle populations will be influenced by various natural (e.g. climate change) and anthropogenic (e.g. fishery pressure) stresses. Unfortunately, there is no published information for Arabian Gulf turtle sex ratios in the wild or on the population dynamics with regard to growth, survival and sex ratios, and no descriptions of non-adult components of the populations. These data are crucial for understanding the status of turtles in those life stages least studied by modern science
Marine turtle populations in Pakistan are being been depleted through harvests of eggs and adults and as bycatch in shrimp trawl fisheries. Trawl fisheries are considered one of the world’s greatest fisheries-related threats to sea turtles but Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) offer practical low-cost solutions allowing catch to be retained while turtles are excluded. Pakistan…
[maplist locationstoshow=”2024″ showdirections=”false” hidecategoriesonitems=”true” hideviewdetailbuttons=”true” categoriesmultiselect=”false” streetview=”false” showdirections=”false” selectedzoomlevel=”5″ hidesearch=”true” hidefilter=”true” hidesort=”true” viewstyle=”maponly” locationsperpage=”3″] Until recently nothing was known of hawksbill at-sea habitat in the Arabian region other than the location of nesting sites and inferences drawn from their spongivorous diet which suggested they inhabited only coral reef habitats. MRF served as the lead scientific…
With the decline of the leatherback turtle throughout the Western Pacific region, the Huon coast is one of the last remaining bastions of the species. The major threats to turtles nesting in Papua New Guinea are depredation of nests by dogs, local consumption of eggs and occasional slaughter of adult nesting females. Monitoring and…
The Dhamra Port project was controversial from its very inception. It met with opposition at all levels of science and conservation, but also garnered the support of the International union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Acting in his (then) capacity as Co-Chair of the IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group, MRF’s Executive Director Dr. Nicolas…
