NEW YORK, May 12 (UPI) -- Protected areas for endangered olive ridley sea turtles off the coast of Central Africa may be inadequate to safeguard them from fishing nets, researchers say.
Scientists in the study recommended the extension of an international marine park that spans the waters of Gabon and the Republic of Congo and urged better international cooperation to manage the threatened species, a release by the Wildlife Conservation Society said Thursday.
In a tracking study of olive ridley sea turtles during the nesting season, researchers used satellite transmitters to follow 18 female turtles during their journeys ashore to lay eggs, which bring the turtles closest to the coastline and to the danger of being captured in fishing nets.
"Thousands of olive ridley sea turtles are caught every year in fishing nets along the coast of Central Africa, yet we previously had no understanding of their movements or what areas are critical to protect their populations," said Sara Maxwell, who led the study as a graduate student at University of California, Santa Cruz.
Turtles were tagged in Mayumba National Park, a 900-square-kilometer marine protected area on the southern coast of Gabon, but the study revealed the tagged turtles spent more than half of their time in the Republic of Congo waters, highlighting the need for international cooperation to protect this species, the researchers said.
The Wildlife Conservation Society said it is working with the national park agencies of both countries to join and expand Mayumba and Conkouati-Douli National Parks, creating the first international marine park in the region.
