NEWSLETTER 7 - By M. Giovannini

REPRODUCTION SEASON STARTS AGAIN!!!

The reproduction of sea turtles, as we know, happens during the hottest months of the year for most of the species. Thanks to one of our friends helping the RSTP, we can now report the first sea turtles’ mating in 2008 in the Sharm El Sheikh area. The couple mating was photographed in March on Yolanda Reef by one of the guests from Oonas Dive Club, Kevin, and kindly sent to us. This is a very important news since it proves that the Ras Mohamed area is breeding ground as witnessed by our team last year during a survey trip in the park. We will now organise regular trips to the park to see if we are able to find the nests and implement some protection activities. Thank you very much to Oonas Dive Club for their help and to Kevin for sending us the pictures.

VESSEL COLLISION - by Samantha Nier
The following article was written by Sam for MEDASSET and, in light of our co-operation with them, we gladly publish the article on our website. Since the summer is coming and sea turtles will be more abundant in the Sharm are, we think the article is very relevant. Thank you Sam.

“In areas where recreational boating and ship traffic is intense, propeller and collision injuries are common for marine wildlife

All sea turtles, with the exception of the leatherback turtle, have hard carapaces; but these shells are unable to withstand the strike of a boat or the cut of a powerful propeller. Sea turtles staying close to the sea surface to bask, mate or breathe are vulnerable to boats collisions or being struck by propellers.

Vessel collision contributes to the mortality and maiming of sea turtles. Greater vessel speed increases the probability that turtles would fail to flee from the approaching vessel; while the majority of sea turtles hit by boats do not survive,

Young turtles are very alert so less likely to be hit by vessels. The trauma must be extensive in order to kill them as they have remarkable ability to survive severe damage. Seriously injured or dead turtles may be struck multiple times by vessels before they drift ashore. It is very difficult to distinguish trauma from sharks bites, boat collisions and propeller cuts.

Survivors of vessel collisions

Buoyancy is very important for aquatic animals as the ocean environment changes substantially with depth. To remain at a preferred depth with minimal energy expenditure, sea turtles use pulmonary gas exchange to selectively move lung gas to the front, back, right or left of the lungs to compensate for changes in body weight. Many sea turtles that experience severe trauma, such as boat collision, have buoyancy control issues from their injuries. This means that lead weights and similar devices are required for sea turtle survivors that can no longer control their buoyancy and just ‘bob like a cork’ on the top of the water.

Ways to reduce the threat of boats to sea turtles

1. 1.Vessel strike avoidance for sea turtles. In order to avoid causing injury or death to sea turtles, ship captains and crew should maintain vigilant watch during navigation and slow down and/or stop their vessel to avoid striking. When sea turtles are sighted, they should attempt to maintain a distance of 45 metres or greater whenever possible.
   

2. 2.Injured or dead sea turtle reporting. Vessel crew should report sightings of any injured or dead sea turtle (or protected species in general), regardless of whether the injury or death is caused by the vessel. Report includes date/location of the strike, name of the vessel involved and species identification.
   

3. 3.Zoning and speed limits for significant sea turtle nesting/foraging areas. Tiered application of zoning and speed limits for coastal waters is essential in protecting sea turtles in key stages of their reproduction cycle. For example the National Marine Park of Zakynthos in Greece has:
   

4. •Zone A: No boating activity or fishing of any kind
   

5. •Zone B: Boats are allowed with speed limits of 6 miles/hour. Anchoring prohibited.
   

6. •Zone C: Boats are allowed with speed limit of 6 miles/hour. Anchoring permitted.”
   

THANK YOU - by Lauren Irwin

A big thank you to everyone who sponsored me in the 10k run at Clapham Common on April 27th. The race went very well ­ conditions were great, and I finished in a time of 45 mins ­ coming 12th in the women and 161 out of 649 overall. The donations you made will help the Red Sea Turtle Project enormously to produce further educational materials on sea turtle conservation, and with the protection of nesting sites in the Sharm El Sheikh area. Hopefully the run has also helped raise further awareness about our Project and conservation in general.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LINNEA

RSTP would like to thank Anna for sponsoring the project for the second birthday of her lovely Linnéa, in Terrazina Beach at Sharm El Sheikh. The donations will be used to produce educational material e conservation of turtle nests in Sharm El Sheikh.

GET INVOLVED!
Your help so far has been amazing and we thank you very much for it. Here are a few things you can do to get involved in the project:

1. •Report any turtle sighting online.
   

2. •Report any big animal sighting online.
   

3. •Submit any picture or video of sea turtles via email. We will use these to identify individuals and we will give you credit for your pictures or videos.
   

4. •Send us your comments, feedback and suggestions on how to improve our project.
   

5. •Donate to the RSTP. Your donation will help us in continuing our activity.
   

6. •Enrol in the Sea Turtle Awareness Specialty. It’s easy and everyone can do it!
   

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