The Belize Turtle Watch Program has been many years in the making and the goals are far reaching.  ECOMAR, in partnership with the Belize Fisheries Department, with support from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Protected Areas Conservation Trust (PACT), aim to increase the level of knowledge on sea turtles in Belize significantly. 

The Belize Turtle Watch Program was launched in March 2011 with the goal of establishing a baseline data set on in-water abundance and nesting beach activity so that changes over time, specifically those caused by climate change, can be measured.

Activities

The Belize Turtle Watch Program has many activities planned for 2011.  Each activity will increase our knowledge and form a base for which future studies can compared.  During 2011 we will:

• Increase public awareness on importance of sea turtle conservation through radio, print and video.
• Conduct the Belize Sea Turtle Census for 2011.
• Liaise with resorts and volunteer organizations to promote the in-water census of sea turtles.
• Coordinate training workshops for coastal property owners so they can assist in the tabulating the nesting census of sea turtles.
• Identify impacts on sea turtle populations.
• Increase reporting of stranded sea turtles.
• Determine if climate change is already impacting nesting beaches.
• Interview fishermen, marine guides and property owners with standardized questionnaires to record historical impacts and changes in populations that have been observed.

All levels of stakeholders will be involved including the general public, coastal property owners, recreational and professional divers and snorkelers, fishermen, marine protected area managers and other NGOs.

Sea Turtle Awareness Program

An awareness program will be coordinated to educate the general public on the importance of sea turtles and the need for conservations and will include:

• Radio messages
• Print media reports on activities
• Sea Turtles in Belize documentary

This part of the program will build upon the outreach conducted by Turtle Network members in 2009 when the Belize Sea Turtle Expo travelled throughout Belize educating school children about sea turtles.  This year we will work to engage more of the general public including children and adults alike!

Sea Turtle Census 2011

The Sea Turtle Census 2011 consists of the In-Water and Nesting Beach Observation Programs where marine guides and coastal property owners record their observations of sea turtles.  To achieve this census we are relying on interested business and individuals to become supporters and volunteers in the project activities.

The Turtle Watch Program will begin by promoting the In-water Observation portion of the program to coastal resorts, volunteer organizations and marine guides throughout Belize. University of Exeter Master’s student Khristina Bonham will be visiting different locations throughout the country educating guests and training marine guides on how they can help in estimating abundance of sea turtles that forage and live in the waters of Belize.

The Turtle Watch In-Water Observations Power Point presentation developed by Khristina and ECOMAR includes the following information:

• Importance of program
• Impacts on sea turtles
• Species id
• Estimating size
• Recording observations
• Submitting data to ECOMAR

The Turtle Watch Program’s In-water Observations materials have been developed following those already prepared by the Caribbean Turtle Watch Program and Sea Turtle.org.  Turtle Watch In-Water Observation Toolkits will be distributed to participating organizations and individuals and will include:

• Posters – educate
• Stickers – promote & educate
• Measuring tape – use to estimate size
• Turtle Sighting Sheets for individuals
• In-water Observations Logs – for dive boats and key part of keeping record of all dives and logging the number of turtles present.

The Nesting Beach Observation portion of the Sea Turtle Census will begin in June 2011.   Nesting Beach Observations Kits will be prepared and distributed to Turtle Watch Volunteers that can monitor beaches for nesting activity.

Photo ID

We are also encouraging all divers and snorkelers to submit photos of any turtles they have seen on the dives and especially those recorded in the logs that will be used in a photo ID program. The photos will be used in a Belize Sea Turtle Photo Album so that we can determine range of resident turtles living on our reefs.

Sea Turtle Training Workshops

There are two Sea Turtle Training Workshops that will be held, one for coastal property owners who would like to assist in monitoring their beaches for sea turtle nesting activity, and one for marine protected area biologists.

Materials that have already been developed will be used in the workshops and applied in the field and include:

• Turtle Toolkit prepared by WWF
• Sandwatch Program manual
• Sea Turtle Nesting Beach Characterization Manual prepared by WIDECAST

The Nesting Workshop for coastal property owners will include details on the following:

• Importance of program
• Impacts on sea turtles
• Species id
• Turtle track ID
• Locating & protecting nests
• Turtle friendly lighting
  
• Night patrols
• Stranding report
• Recording observations details
• Submitting data to ECOMAR

Data recorded by those coastal resorts and property owner volunteers participating in the Turtle Watch Program’s Nesting Beach Surveys will include the following:

• Species id
• Beach composition, width and incline
• Beach temperature
• Date tracks observed
• Date hatchlings observed
• GPS point of potential nest

Coastal residents and property owners will work closely with the Belize Fisheries Department and will notify them when the nest hatched so the biologists can check the nest for hatching success.

The Sea Turtle Training Workshop will be held for marine protected area biologists from June 6-9, 2011 in Belize City and Gales Point and will include information on:

• Sea turtle statistics
• Fishery regulations
• Illegal harvest
• Species ID
• Turtle track ID
• Locating nest
• Relocating nests
• Night patrols
• Tagging turtles
• Stranding report
• Rehabilitation
• Necropsy
• Climate change impacts

Marine protected area biologists from throughout Belize will be attending and upon completion of the course each particpant will return to their MPA and apply the lessons learned with their colleauges and collect data on their nesting beaches and foraging areas for inclusion in the updated Belize Sea Turtle Recovery Action Plan.



Questionnaires

Questionnaires will also be developed to assess coastal inhabitants knowledge of sea turtle abundance and which impacts are greatest to foraging and nesting turtles in Belize.

Update Belize STRAP

The Belize Sea Turtle Recovery Action Plan (STRAP) will be updated at the end of the project’s activities and will include a special section on impacts to sea turtles as a result of climate change.  The data collected from the reports on in-water and nesting beach observations, and from the questionnaires will be included in the updated report.

All of the activities of the Belize Turtle Watch Program 2011 have the goal of determine baseline data on sea turtles that nest and forage in Belize by networking with diverse stakeholder groups so that changes over time, especially those caused by climate change, can be measured.

Acknowledgments

Members of the Belize Sea Turtle Conservation Network have been planning this workshop at each and every meeting for the last decade.  ECOMAR is very grateful to our partners for making this dream a reality!

ECOMAR thanks WWF and PACT for their foresight in funding this program and activities that help conserve one of the oldest living species in Belize’s waters.

For more details on any of these activities of the Belize Turtle Watch Program please Contact Us today!

 Belize Turtle Watch Program logo

Sea Turtle Census 2011 Poster

In-Water Observation Log distributed to participating dive and snorkel centers in Belize

Poster prepared to raise awareness on stranded sea turtles in hopes that all will be reported