NEWS

Olive ridley turtle nests in the Philippines make it onto the global map! đŸ‡”đŸ‡­

For the first time since ‘The State of the World’s Sea Turtles’ (SWOT) started their global mapping initiative, the Philippines was able to contribute olive ridley turtle nesting data, helping offer insights into nesting behaviors especially for places where arribadas (mass nesting) do not occur. While SWOT opened submissions to everyone, DENR-BMB and LAMAVE decided to call on collaborators to collate the data for the Philippines into a single submission in order to identify high-density areas better and show a unified effort for turtle conservation as a country. Various groups and individuals responded to the call for nesting data, gladly sharing information from the last 5 seasons and expressed interest to contribute further. From the preliminary data submitted, we found that majority of olive ridley nesting occur along the western coast, between mainland Luzon and the province of Palawan. Reporting trends were also seen to increase by 130% annually and while different factors can account for this, it undoubtedly helps shed insights on further action needed to help us uncover more information on this enigmatic species.

This is just the beginning of an exciting collaborative effort to streamline turtle conservation activities in the country as we prepare to further analyze data, which will be presented in the upcoming 16th Philippine Association of Marine Sciences Symposium (PAMS).

Partners are set to virtually meet by the end of the month so if you would like to be included, send us a message to Jamie at j.dichaves[at]lamave.org

Map: Biogeography of Olive Ridley Sea Turtles, from SWOT REPORT VOL. 16 JUNE 16, 2021

Map: Biogeography of Olive Ridley Sea Turtles, from SWOT REPORT VOL. 16 JUNE 16, 2021

Various groups and individuals that responded to the call for nesting data.

Various groups and individuals that responded to the call for nesting data.

SWOT Report, Vol. XVI

Featuring a global map of olive ridley sea turtle nesting and at-sea tracking data, a collaborative article on the status of olive ridley sea turtles around the world, and stories from behind the lens of National Geographic photographer, Thomas Peschak, and more.

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NEWSLarge Marine Vertebrates Research Institute PhilippinesNEWS, olive ridley, nesting turtle, turtle, philippines, luzon, DENR-BMB, DENR, conservation, PhilippinesComment