Concerted approach to protecting sea turtles

The private sector, NGOs and the Mauritian government have joined together to protect the sea turtles that frequently appear on the island’s South Coast. For some time now, those running Rogers’, ENL’s, Omnicane’s, Currimjee Jeewanjee’s and HSBC’s social responsibility programmes have been working with government organisations, especially the Albion Fisheries Research Centre and the Ministry of Fisheries, on drawing up an appropriate framework for the protection of the area. The work is being undertaken together with specialist NGOs such as the Mauritius Marine Conservation Society, Eco-Sud and Reef Conservation. An action plan is also being prepared for the supervision of the area to avoid any poaching, to create awareness amongst the local population and for the conduct of a scientific research programme. Internationally, the overfishing of sea turtles has driven international bodies to classify them as species at risk of extinction. All sea turtle species have been included in Appendix 1 of the Washington Convention, which lists species threatened with extinction from overexploitation resulting from international trade.