ORP Blog
Ghost gear is not the only fishing gear related threat to marine animals; bycatch is another big – and global – problem.
Bycatch happens when commercial fishers accidentally catch unwanted or unintended fish and marine creatures, and seabirds, in their fishing nets whilst fishing for a target fish species, size or sex. WWF estimates that 40% of fish caught worldwide is bycatch.
Brian Anton volunteered at the ORP Rescue Centre for a month, and it was a very eventful month indeed! He recommends anyone who loves traveling, animal medicine, and sea turtles to take advantage of this opportunity to volunteer with sea turtles. Find what Brian got up to and why he loved every minute.
ORP has removed tons of ghost gear from areas near Karachi and the fishing village of Abdul Rehman Goth. But now we have a new problem: What to do with 4 tons of ghost nets? Thanks to some creative thinking and innovative collaborations, we are now putting ghost nets to good use in various and surprising fields.
When you are looking at a sea turtle, you are usually not just looking at a single organism. Sea turtles never swim alone. Many creatures live directly on or even inside a sea turtle. As for all animals, this so-called symbiotic relationship does not have to be negative of the turtle.
We had a very special arrival recently, an incredibly rare white sea turtle. Cloud is a green sea turtle with a genetic condition called Leucism. Leucism is a condition where animals have reduced pigmentation, but different from albinism, as albino animals have a complete loss of pigmentation.
The North-East monsoon season in Maldives is peak season for ghost nets drifting into to Maldives, and along with them, entangled marine life. The team at One & Only Reethi Rah recently removed a monster ghost net in North Male Atoll, estimated to weigh between 200 and 300 kg.
As the Olive Ridley Project starts its work in Kenya, we are eager to know what are the current ghost gear impact on local marine life. With a daily presence on the diving boats of Diving the Crab Dive Centre, one of our partners in Diani beach, our team is recording and, when possible, participating in removing all visible ghost gear on the local reef.
Maldives Underwater Initiative (MUI) is a partnership of NGOs and Six Senses Laamu Resort consolidating our research, science communication and community outreach work to conserve marine life in Laamu Atoll. ORP and MUI aim to make Laamu Atoll a safer place for sea turtles.
Hawksbill turtles are currently classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN. Prized for their beauty and wanted for their eggs and meat, they have been hunted for thousands of years. Today they are also at risk from by-catch, ghost fishing, coastal development and climate change, among other threats.
What is life like as a Sea Turtle Vet on a remote island in the Indian Ocean? Dr Claire Lomas BVM&S MRCVS is ORP’s Sea Turtle Veterinarian in residence at the Marine Turtle Rescue Centre in Baa Atoll. She reveals the highlights and challenges of life as a Sea Turtle Vet.
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