Saving olive ridley turtles of the Indian Ocean
Is there a reason why turtles are facing different threats, based upon their species? Or is it more complicated than that? Martin Stelfox, Founder of the Olive Ridley project (ORP) explains.
�Olive ridleys are extremely rare to encounter when snorkelling or diving,� Stelfox told me, and I couldn�t help but agree, they are notable by their absence on the Maldivian reefs, so beloved of holidaymakers and researchers alike. �Olives tend to be oceanic in nature, meaning they spend a considerable amount of time in deep water, foraging in deep habitats, looking for benthic organisms such as crabs and lobsters,�…
Stelfox, who is completing a PhD on the impact of ghost gear in the Maldives at the University of Derby, suggests it�s hard to estimate just how much debris is in the Indian Ocean. �There are very few studies currently underway,� he said. �Giving estimates of gear loss is also a difficult task. We cannot estimate right now, in 2009 the UN estimated around 640,000 tons of gear is lost globally every year, and the figure does not include gear loss from illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.�
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Photo from Richard Aspinall.
