It is now the nesting season for marine turtles in the Pacific and many environment conservationists will be spending their nights on island beaches looking out for potential turtle nesters and also for hatchlings. The nesting season for these magnificent creatures begins in the warmer months of the year from October to April.
For Mamanuca Environment Society, nesting beach surveys began on the 27th of December 2008. The team comprising of volunteers and staff spent three nights on Vunivadra Island, a.k.a. as South Sea Island, keeping watch for any turtles coming up the beach to lay their eggs. Turtle foraging site surveys and household surveys will begin on the week of the 12th of January. Our team will conduct household surveys in the four main villages of Solevu, Tavua, Yaro and Yanuya in the Mamanucas. Training workshops on resource mapping, sea grass surveys and turtle identification methods will also be conducted with youths and resources users from these village communities. Such trainings serve as capacity building activities which will allow the villagers to continue with turtle conservation work even when we’ve left the villages.
