Seychelles turtle web site nears launch

The web site and on-line database facility which is the final output of the Seychelles Strategic Management of Turtles project is nearing launch of the trial site and system.

The trial front page for the new web site

The project was funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office through the British High Commission in Victoria and has been on-going since June 2003. The aims are to bring together stakeholders that manage and monitor turtle rookeries, find an equitable means for them to share their data and establish a common database. It has also developed a strategy and action plan for turtle management in Seychelles based upon stakeholder input and will use the database to inform and update this strategy.

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IN THIS ISSUE

Seychelles Turtle Web Site Nears Launch

MCSS Oceanographic Programme at D'Arros

Monitoring Whale Sharks in Djibouti

Census of Marine Life

Aerial Surveying more than just whale sharks!

Turtle Logo Competition

A logo is needed for the new turtle monitoring web site to be launched shortly (see article). The logo can be of any size but will be used mainly at less than 6 cm x 6 cm.

  Closing date for entries is March 25th 2006. A number of prizes are offered including educational kits for youngsters, a IOSEA 2006 Year of the Turtle Calendar, and a cash prize of Rs1000.

  Entries should be sent either in electronic format by or by post to PO Box 1299.

MCSS starts Oceanographic Programme at D’Arros

2005 saw the start of a new programme for MCSS in conjunction with the newly opened Research Station at D’Arros island in the Amirantes. The Research Centre has state of the art facilities and encourages researchers from all organisations in Seychelles to use its facilities to contribute to the body of scientific knowledge on D’Arros and the Amirantes islands.  

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Monitoring whale Sharks in Djibouti

During a recent field trip in Djibouti a whale shark was tagged with a satellite transmitter allowing researchers and the general public to follow the movements of “Shiraz” around the Gulf of Tadjoura, off Djibouti.

In 2004, the regular occurrence of whale sharks in the Gulf of Tadjoura prompted local conservationists to take action to find out more about these illusive creatures.

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Census of Marine Life  

The Census of Marine Life is a growing global network of researchers in more than 70 nations engaged in a ten-year initiative to assess and explain the diversity, distribution, and abundance of marine life in the oceans -- past, present, and future.

  Through 2010, scientists worldwide will work to quantify what is known, unknown, and what may never be known about the world's oceans....

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Aerial Surveying – more than just whale sharks!! 

“What’s the maximum wind speed you can fly in?” Predictably, it’s always the same questions. “Well it all depends but we normally draw the line at around 20 knots” this always leads to, “…then why do you fly during the peak of the South East Monsoon?” which seems a very reasonable question!

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IOSEA Year of the Turtle wall calendar

  As part of the package of promotional tools for the IOSEA Year of the Turtle (YoT) campaign, the IOSEA Secretariat in Bangkok has just finished producing an exquisite 2006 wall calendar.

  The calendar is meant to be used by individuals and conservation groups in the IOSEA region to raise awareness of the YoT  (See MCNews vol. 3.2) campaign and to generate funding (US$10 per copy sold) for worthy grassroots conservation projects.

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Volunteering with MCSS

During 2005, a number of overseas volunteers have assisted in MCSS activities.  Their hard work and dedication deserves as special mention in our pages....

January: Sam Bonham, from the UK, was with MCSS for 3 months of his gap year, assisting  primarily with Nesting Turtle Monitoring.  

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Latest Whale Shark News

Between July to December 2005, 520 sightings were reported with 476 in-water encounters. A total of 291 sharks were  identified. Of these 24 were tagged with AquaSign marker tags.....

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