The Project
Volunteer with Turtles in Ghana

Beach Patrol

The conservation area is a five kilometre stretch of palm-fringed beach. Female turtles emerge from the sea at night to lay their eggs which leaves them in a vulnerable position. Volunteers will patrol the beach to monitor turtle nesting and to prevent the female from being disturbed whilst laying. The volunteers will work in pairs, as well as with a local member of the turtle beach patrol, for night patrol shifts.

Protecting and Monitoring Eggs and Hatchlings

When a female lays her eggs on the beach, the eggs are at risk of being poached. Volunteers will have the job of monitoring the location of the eggs and protecting them, depending on the vulnerability of the site. When the time comes for the eggs to hatch, volunteers will monitor numbers, help any struggling hatchlings towards the sea and have the opportunity to marvel at this truly amazing act of nature.

Research

Volunteers will be involved in data collection and analysis. It is important to monitor numbers of the different species of sea turtle laying on the beach to see, for example, which type of sea turtle is most commonly found on the beach and how this compares to previous years and to other beaches in Ghana. Volunteers will also help with mapping and recording where and when each type of turtle lays its eggs.

Education

Conservation of the sea turtles will only ever be effective if the community are on-side. Killing turtles and poaching eggs must stop. Fishermen and villagers must be taught why they should not kill turtles and be given an alternative income or source of food. Part of the volunteers’ role will be to co-ordinate workshops with the local fishermen and visit schools in the area to educate the community on the importance of protecting sea turtles. There is an opportunity to be creative here with projects such as drama or story-telling, designing posters or signboards.

Ecotourism

You will be based near an eco-lodge where tourists will pay to see the magnificent female turtles nesting and the fascinating passage of the hatchling turtles back to the ocean. You will be the expert on hand at this time. The money that tourists pay to see the turtles will go directly into the Turtle Conservation Fund. This money is used for turtle conservation only. For example, money from the fund is used to pay local members of the turtle beach patrol, to buy materials such as paint for sign boards or batteries for night patrol torches.

We are working with the support of Ghana Wildlife in terms of research, public awareness and protection of nesting turtles and their eggs. Ghana Wildlife have visited the village and talked to the community as a whole, to the fisherman and to the school children, educating them about the importance of preserving the endangered sea turtles. The chief, assembly man and elders are all behind this and are very supportive of the project to protect the turtles.

We have started a Turtle Night Patrol where members of the community patrol the beach at night to prevent hunting of turtles or their eggs. The turtle patrols also collect valuable data that is used for conservation purposes, not only in Ghana but on a global scale. This project not only benefits the turtles but also provides employment to locals. With more donations to help save the turtles, we hope to employ more people in this project.

The fishermen are beginning to understand the need to release the turtles that get caught in their nets instead of selling them. However, their nets still get damaged and need repairing and the turtle meat would have provided them with a valuable income. For the moment the project partners have decided to pay for the release of the turtle. This way the fisherman gets some monetary compensation and is able to repair his net and the turtle is freed. It is not sustainable to continuously fund this release of captured turtles. Contributions to our ‘save the turtles’ fund will go toward this. We understand that we cannot save every turtle that gets caught in a net but this is a step in the right direction. We do not encourage fishermen to capture or bring ashore turtles that are caught in their nets; we prefer them to be released at sea.

It is important to remember that changing the beliefs and attitudes of fishermen and local people is no simple task. Introducing, for the first time, the idea of conservation requires a major shift in beliefs and behaviours. This is not something that will happen overnight. However, it is something we are hugely motivated to initiate, support and consistently reinforce.