Conflict Island Turtle Conservation- Because starting small adds up

 By Martha Wame

My love for turtles began when I was in the 5th grade. I smuggled home a turtle book from the school library. The creature on the front page with it's wide mesmerizing eyes drew me in. I could not put the book down that night and after I reached the end, I could never forget the pictures of the endangered Hawksbill, Kemp Ridley and the Leatherback turtles. It began my interest to see them in the wild. 

Growing up, I only spotted Green turtles who can grow up to 15meters. According to the https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/green-turtle "The green turtle is one of the largest sea turtles and the only herbivore among the different species. Also an endangered turtle species, green turtles are threatened by over-harvesting of their eggs, hunting of their adults, being caught in fishing gear and loss of nesting beach sites."

A year ago, my dream to see the rest of them came to pass. A hawksbill turtle in the wild for the first time- while doing voluntary work with the Conflict Island Conservation Initiative.  https://www.facebook.com/CICIPNG/ 

For two weeks, we lived aboard the MV Undersea Explorer, doing turtle rodeos, snorkeling on various uninhabited islands during the day and tagging juvenile and adult turtles at night, collecting eggs to keep in a nursery safe from predators and the sense of satisfaction to finally releasing them into the wild.

It was heaven, love at first sight for me when I saw them. Their narrow pointed beaks and overlapping scales on their back, the way they felt in your hands and the joy of letting them go to grow, reproduce and keep their species going was out of this world.

While there was plenty of Green turtles to be seen, sighting Hawksbill turtles were a rare feat. But my team and I would always spot one on our trips- it was like they wanted me to find them, to see that they exist, that they are surviving despite the greatest odds against them.

We would wait and watch her, even help her dig her nest. We'd insert special egg collecting bags in the nest and watch as one by one, each of he slim covered egg would be laid. There were times some of them could not find proper nesting area and would crawl back out to the sea, those times pained me.

We must realize how blessed we are to have these ancient creatures choose us, to lay their eggs to keep their species alive in our waters. And this realization must come soon as they are fast disappearing....

You can checkout more on this Conflict Island Conservation Initiative volunteer program and how you can be a part of it. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=646146716033968

Ends//

Pics courtesy of author, Martha Wame.





Comments

  1. The Writer Extraordinaire BlogOctober 12, 2020 at 3:36 AM

    A very interesting piece!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Save Marine LifeOctober 13, 2020 at 6:35 PM

    Interesting. As a person from a coastal background, I appreciate the effort into conserving marine lives. Its everybody's business.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Media FreshOctober 13, 2020 at 9:03 PM

    Love this piece, its very interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Monera Faye KennyOctober 13, 2020 at 9:23 PM

    Interesting piece, I just love it. Thanks for sharing this with us.

    ReplyDelete
  5. BeaOctober 14, 2020 at 2:58 AM

    Martha is such an inspiration. She's living her dream and passion. I think she could inspire a lot of us girls.

    ReplyDelete

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