Sea Turtle Conservation Programme

The Sea Turtle Conservation Programme in Sierra Leone (STCP-SL) is a local initiative managed by the Conservation Society of Sierra Leone (CSSL). The aim of the programme is to provide greater protection through Education and Conservation actions for sea turtle species that browse the sea area of Sierra Leone and nest on beaches along the shores of the country.

It all started in 1998 with Edward Aruna who was by then a student on internship at CSSL. Edward was encouraged by the Executive Director – Mr. D.D. Siaffa, to look at the issue of sea turtles since nothing much was done about sea turtles in the country. As a challenge, Edward agreed to work on sea turtle issues in the country under the supervision of the then biodiversity conservation officer – Alhaji Siaka. Edward covered about 12km of the shoreline of the country talking to coastal communities about the presence of sea turtles in Sierra Leone’s sea water. Using poster showing photos of the world’s seven species, he also encouraged locals to make available to him carapaces for identification. Result of the survey indicated the presence of five species in Sierra Leone.

The five species include: -
• Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta)
• Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)
• Green turtle (Chelonia mydas)
• Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)
• Olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea)
Threats documented at the initial stage included construction at nesting beaches, collection of eggs, sand mining, incidental by-catch, drowning in active and discarded nets (Ghost fishing), presence of electric light near nesting beaches, disposal of non-biodegradable materials especially plastics in to the sea and the lack of education/sensitisation about the species and the wildlife laws of Sierra Leone. The work served as a dissertation for Edward and largely contributed to the award of B.Sc in Biological Sciences at the Njala University College in 2001. Since then Edward has remained at CSSL and presently heads the sea turtle conservation programme in the country.

CSSL’s Effort
The relentless efforts of Edward at CSSL through support from the US Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS), Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Wildlife Conservation Branch of Sierra Leone (WCB) and the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR), have resulted in a drastic drop in the rate of exploitation of sea turtles in the country. In the past, international organizations including World Turtle Trust (2003 to 2005), Project Global (2008) and State of the World Sea Turtles (2006) have contributed to the sea turtle conservation effort in Sierra Leone.

The present sea turtle programme is largely funded by USFWS (2006 to date).With USFWS support, CSSL has undertaken series of community development activities including construction of a three classroom community school, rehabilitation of a two room guest house, water wells for five island communities, pipe water supply and latrines for leatherback nesting site communities, an office space for a major artisanal fishing and transportation harbour/wharf and a hut for key fishing centre in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone.

Alongside these activities, 50 locals have been trained and hired as bycatch and nest monitors within key fishing communities starting from Konakreedee onto Turtle islands. Education/sensitisation materials including calendars, posters, billboards, T-shirts and brochures are annually produced and distributed within the project site and in some key government ministries/offices in Freetown.
Lesson learned so far is that conservation of our biodiversity can be largely achieved through the involvement of locals and creating landmarks within local communities, no matter how little. Addressing key issues within local communities in an exchange for species conservation can go a long way. This is worked by STCP-SL through the above efforts with funds from USFWS.
Sierra Leone has about 650km coastline with well over seventy major fishing centres. The programme is covering about half of the coastline and there is a greater need to extend its campaign right across the entire coastline. There is little or no gain in controlling bycatch and beach monitoring activities in some areas while the other areas are bent on killing and collecting eggs. Sea turtles are migratory species.

The monitoring effort has resulted in the documentation of the nesting of four species on beaches in Sierra Leone; they include leatherback, olive ridley, hawksbill and loggerhead. In the bycatch effort, the programme has interestingly recorded more green turtles than all the other species but no hatchling or nest of a green turtle has been recorded.

The programme’s main goal is to provide sea turtles greater protection along the coast of Sierra Leone, and this can be achieved through education/sensitisation, community development programmes and training and hiring more monitors.

SAVE A SEA TURTLE today in Sierra Leone by making special donation to:-

STCP– SL.
Conservation Society of Sierra Leone
18B Becklyn Drive, Off Main Motor Road
Congo Cross
Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Email: seaturtle_sle@yahoo.co.uk, edwardaruna@conservationsl.org