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…
Marine turtles are integral components of marine ecosystems at the Tubbataha Marine Park World Heritage Site, and priority conservation species Nationally and within the Sulu-Sulawesi Seascape programme, the IOSEA MoU, the CTI Regional Action Plan, and the ASEAN Sea Turtle MoU. The reefs at Tubbataha, Cagayancillo, Palawan, Philippines, are a developmental and nesting habitat for Endangered green turtles (Chelonia mydas), and a foraging habitat for Critically Endangered hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata)
Western Pacific leatherback sea turtle populations have declined 83% over the last five decades and are considered Critically Endangered according to IUCN. Protection of the remaining leatherback sea turtles in the Western Pacific is essential for population recovery, and this protection needs to extend to in-water habitats, where turtles spend the vast portion of their lives. But the protection of leatherback turtles at sea requires first-hand knowledge of their distribution in time and space, thus determining at-sea distributions and threats is essential for leatherback protection, restoration, and management
MRF was contracted to contribute the marine benthos assessment component to a Marine Environmental Baseline Survey (MEBS) for the drilling of two appraisal wells by RasGas Company Limited in the Northwest fields off Qatar, on contract to URS Qatar LLC. MRF’s scope of work included reviewing ROV footage in real-time to categorise substrate types and…
This project tracked the post-reproduction movements of loggerhead turtles at one of the world’s largest nesting aggregation of loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta), Masirah Island, Sultanate of Oman, including investigation of clutch frequency, site fidelity, migration routes. The latter also helped to reveal intersections with threats, such as those associated with fisheries, hydrocarbon exploration, shipping…
