Warmest greetings from Ghana, West Africa!
Bahari Karuna is about "Ocean Compassion" dealing with sea turtle and shark conservation in the Western Region of Ghana, working with communities in order to benefit them and the oceans while securing the survival of species for future generations. Neil Davis, an Archelonosaurus (late Cretaceous) & WILDSEAS Projects Director sent us this short report!
Things are normally winding down at this time of year over here but my recent trip to Bahari Karuna turtle project was anything but quiet! More on that later but first things first, it is actually thanks to ARCHELON that WILDSEAS project, Bahari Karuna exists.
Back in 2010, at the end of another long turtle season, at ARCHELON’s Lakonikos Bay Project, I found myself a job in western Ghana, living on the beach for nine months as Turtle Conservation Coordinator for Hen Mpoano/USAID! John Flynn came out to visit, and the two of us founded the WILDSEAS, a plan we had hatched while in Greece earlier that year.
In the beginning (2011) we worked on a 10km nesting beach, but it soon became apparent that this was not even scratching the surface. The problems were much more than losing a few turtle eggs. After witnessing the rampant poaching not only on the beaches but also at sea, we reached out to local chiefs and recruited a team of dedicated locals. Although many turtles were caught incidentally in nets, fisherfolk were still landing many turtles and selling them for meat. In 2012 at Axim we secured a commitment from the fishermen to safely release turtles caught in their nets instead of selling them to be butchered.
In 2015 our Safe Release program expanded to include the fishing villages of Essiama and Ampenyi, greatly increasing the number of fishermen committed to saving turtles in the Western Region. Since 2012, more than 800 adult turtles have been saved thanks to this program, and more than 500 of these turtles have been tagged so WILDSEAS can collect data on their movements.
Last season was our biggest so far and this one looks like we are going to break all previous records… no wonder December and January was no holiday ;-)
Each place Eric Quayson (our coordinator based in Axim) and I visited, we were run off our feet. Juvenile green turtles captured in beach seines, even one unfortunate enough to have been held captive in a fish pond at Busua. Leatherbacks seem to be everywhere this season and unfortunately we weren’t able to save some of them, but still, the numbers released by us and other projects in Ghana are on the up. One day we went out for a spot of lunch at Dixcove and ended sharing a taxi back to Busua with eight olive ridleys! Eric had found them tied up to one of the fishing boats close to the shore, never a dull moment!
In December WILDSEAS and other NGO’s in West Africa met to form a new working group that will enable us to engage directly with each other, share ideas/best practices and support each other through any difficulties we may face. WASTCON (West Africa Sea Turtle Conservation Network is now in the latter stages of incubation and will soon be ready to hatch!
More info can be found on our Facebook pages here
Bahari Karuna: https://www.facebook.com/BahariKaruna/
WASTCON: https://www.facebook.com/Sea-Turtles-Network-Initiative-in-West-Africa-377214772841682/?ref=br_rs
The Koulouris family with two generations of “turtlers” in Zakynthos
Will the loggerhead sea turtles continue nesting on the beaches of Crete?
RECENT NEWS
- OUR NEWS27/09/2023
World Tourism Day 2023: Are there sea turtle-friendly hotels in north Crete?
But why is tourism important to sea turtles?
- OUR NEWS15/09/2023
Lilo, the tiny green turtle, made it back to the sea!
In November 2021 a small green turtle arrived at the ARCHELON Rescue Centre with a very serious head injury. After almost two years of intensive care, one Wednesday in September 2023 he was finally discharged and returned to the sea!
- OUR NEWS17/08/2023
World record of 37 years of reproductive life for a loggerhead sea turtle in Zakynthos, Greece – increased number of nests this summer, says ARCHELON
ARCHELON – the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece announces an important outcome of the systematic work of this year's sea turtle nest monitoring team in Zakynthos. Based on their long-term observations, ARCHELON managed to certify a new World Record of reproductive activity for loggerhead turtles.
- OUR NEWS07/08/2023
ATTENTION! Sea turtles are not pets: Do not touch them or feed them!
The Municipality of Eastern Mani and the Port Authorities requested the assistance of ARCHELON to inform beach users in the area of Limeni, near Mani, where 35 new incidents of sea turtle attacks on sea bathers have been recorded during this summer season. These are added to the already long list of 200 such records of previous years found in the nearby Health Center in Areopolis.
- OUR NEWS01/08/2023
Interview with a volunteer: Lea Heinen, Rescue Centre
Interview with a volunteer: Lea Heinen, Rescue Centre Lea shares her experience volunteering at the ARCHELON Sea Turtle Rescue Centre: “I think when a turtle starts to eat after a month of trying, when you can see the improvement or healing of a turtle's injury and when a turtle is released back into the sea, into its natural habitat, into its home - then you know that you are indeed saving turtles”.
- OUR NEWS21/07/2023
Kids Beach Competition 2023: Make your own little sea turtle with natural materials and send us a photo!
Help us spread the message about the protection of sea turtles by making your own baby turtles with natural materials you will find on the beach. Sand, stones, pebbles, shells, seaweed, sticks and whatever else you have available, can be transformed with a little imagination! Take a photo of your work and send it to the ARCHELON Beach Competition.
- OUR NEWS18/07/2023
Paving the way for next steps in conservation of marine turtles in the Mediterranean region
Last week the partner organizations of the project “Conservation of Marine Turtles in the Mediterranean Region” met for the 9th Steering Committee Meeting. The meeting was organized by SPA/RAC in the area of Kyparissia Bay, Greece on the 4th and 5th of July, 2023 in collaboration with ARCHELON.
- OUR NEWS04/07/2023
An offer to EXPERIENCED volunteers: You can now join the beach projects for 2-3 weeks!
The time is just right to join the projects again, even if you have only 2 or 3 weeks of available time. This offer is valid for August, September, October 2023. Apply through our new website and find out more about the dates and places you can join. More…
- OUR NEWS22/06/2023
The nesting season has begun! Learn what you can do if you find sea turtle tracks or nests on the beach
The nesting season for the loggerhead sea turtles has begun. The nests that are made in the areas monitored by ARCHELON and other collaborating groups are already being recorded. However, if you find tracks or nests on other beaches, you can also participate in the effort to record and protect these sporadic nests. Find out why it's important…
- OUR NEWS16/06/2023
A breath away from registering a new world record on the years of known active reproduction of a loggerhead sea turtle is ARCHELON, the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece
This is the year when ARCHELON, a nonprofit environmental NGO, is celebrating 40 years of continuous and targeted action to save sea turtles in Greece and the Mediterranean. At the same time, the project teams of ARCHELON are ready to register the longest period of active reproduction known for the Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), in case it happens this year!
- OUR NEWS15/06/2023
A Saturday unlike any other - Turtle Festival 2023
ARCHELON invites kids and adults to celebrate the environment and the sea in an exciting way at the "Sea Turtle Festival" on Saturday, May 27 at the Sea Turtle Rescue Centre in the 3rd Marina of Glyfada.
- OUR NEWS07/06/2023
Announcement for all past volunteers of ARCHELON: Shall we meet this September?
Highlight: Hi everyone! This year marks 40 years of ARCHELON’s action for protecting sea turtles in Greece. During these four decades, thousands of volunteers from many countries joined our sea turtle projects and the Rescue Centre to help save the turtles. Let’s meet again this coming September and celebrate the animals we saved during all these years.
- OUR NEWS07/04/2023
Waiting list for schools that want to visit the ARCHELON Rescue Centre
Thousands of Greek students visit the Centre and get informed about the value of protecting the environment through contact with a particularly beloved animal, the sea turtle. "All the available visiting hours until the end of the 2022-2023 school year have been booked, but there is a waiting list that is activated in case of cancellations", says Anna Kontoleon, ARCHELON’s Education Officer. More hours for online tours may be added in May if volunteers become available.
- OUR NEWS28/03/2023
People are supporting wildlife conservation
The donations and "adoptions" made at the Rescue Centre in Glyfada, Attica and at ARCHELON’s field projects in Zakynthos, the Peloponnese and Crete in 2022, reached the amount of €350,000. We did a lot last year thanks to all these people, who also made it possible for us to continue this year.
- OUR NEWS24/03/2023
Gail Schofield
We learned with deep sadness the passing away of Gail Schofield, a pronounced sea turtle researcher and former ARCHELON volunteer. Read more…