Turtle Watch

Belize Turtle Watch Program

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, especially those caused by climate change, can be measured.

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), the Protected Areas Conservation Trust (PACT) and the Gulf & Caribbean Fisheries Institute (GCFI) aim to increase the level of knowledge on sea turtles in Belize significantly through a wide variety of activities.

Belize Turtle Watch Program Training DVD

This training DVD is about 20 minutes long and explains the importance of the Belize Turtle Watch Program and why it was founded. Discussed is the history of sea turtles in Belize, and information about the Sea Turtle Census, Adopt a Reef and Adopt A Beach programs! We hope you enjoy!

Increasing Knowledge of Sea Turtles

Many of the programs coordinated under the Turtle Watch Program - Adopt A Beach, Adopt A Reef, Sea Turtle Census, In-water Observations, Nesting Beach Observations, Training Workshops - include materials that help educate and raise awareness of the need to sea turtles conservation.

A wide variety of materials have been produced to make it easy for volunteers to participate and contribute meaningful data on sea turtles in Belize. These materials include posters, stickers, calendars, fact sheets, and messages aired on radio and in a training DVD.

The four posters produced educate on common sea turtle species, life cycles, stranded sea turtles and the announcement of the annual sea turtle census.

The Belize Turtle Watch Program is also on Facebook and we share current events here and on our Blog.

Sea turtles need to surface to breath, but will quickly dive down. Photo Linda Searle

Founding Premise

The Belize Turtle Watch Program was founded on the need to determine if climate change is impacting populations of sea turtles in Belize. Each activity has been designed to increase our knowledge and form a base for which future studies can compared.
Activities include:

Increase public awareness on importance of sea turtle conservation through radio, print and video.
Conduct the annual Belize Sea Turtle Census.
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.

In-Water Observations

The Belize Turtle Watch Program's In-Water Observations was launched by University of Exeter Master's student Khristina Bonham. She visited organizations and resorts throughout Belize sharing with them the programs goals which included the following information in a Power Point presentation:

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

After Khristina finished collecting data for her thesis we have been working with the same dive operators ad resorts getting them involved by Adopting A Beach and submitting reports on turtles sighted while visiting the reef.

Turtle Watch Program In-water Observation materials include:

Posters – educate
Stickers – promote & educate
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.
2012 calendar where volunteers can easily record their sightings.

All reports will be included in the Annual Sea Turtle Survey report that will be prepared at the end of each year.

Divers admiring the endangered hawksbill turtle. Photo Gordon Kirkwood

Photo ID

It is possible to identify turtles by the patterns of scales on the side of a turtle's face and other distinguishing characteristics like barnacles, missing flippers or deformities in the carapace.

Many divers report having regular sightings of the same turtle over the years and have names for them like Bubba, Lefty and Barnacle Bill.

All divers and snorkelers are asked to submit their photos of all turtles so we can use them in our photo ID program. We will also include old photos to compare the turtles over the years.

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.

Comparison of hawksbill turtle in 1998 and 10 years later in 2008. Note red circles in top photo. Photo Robert Van Dam.

1st Annual In-Water Sea Turtle Surveys

Biologists working in marine protected areas from Bacalar Chico to Punta Gorda are working together to assess abundance levels and species composition of sea turtles in Belize.

An important group of stakeholders are assisting in the scientific surveys - fishermen! Fishermen spend their days in the ocean swimming fast and diving deep. They have the skills that are required to capture sea turtles, and would be perfect Fisheries Biologists given the opportunity and right training.

The methodology is simple. Snorkel the reef, record turtles observed, and try to catch turtles sighted. Turtles captured are measured, tagged and released.

Biologists record location of capture and species and take precise measurements of the turtle carapace, plastron and tail. Turtles are also tagged so that when they are recaptured the data can be compared. Biopsy, or tissue samples, are also taken for DNA analysis which will identify the turtles nesting beach.

Each year biologists will return to the sites surveyed to conduct the in-water survey again and it is likely that some of the same turtles will be captured and important information on range and growth will be gathered.

Please note catching turtles should not be attempted unless scientific surveys are being conducted. Divers, snorkelers and fishermen should not capture turtles unless authorized to do so by the Belize Fisheries Department.

If you would like to assist in a future survey, please let us know or contact your nearest marine protected areas managing organization!

Henry Brown, biologist at the Bacalar Chico Marine Reserve, tags a loggerhead turtle with assistance from a fisherman. Photo Hol Chan Marine Reserve.

Hol Chan biologist returning to the boat with a small hawksbill he just captured on the reef. This is a very small turtle and probably only recently settled out on to the reef. Photo Hol Chan Marine Reserve

The hawksbill turtle is one of the most endangered sea turtles in the world. Photo Linda Searle

The Belize Turtle Watch Program Training DVD summarizes the program and outlines key facts that new volunteers needed to contribute valuable reports to the Annual Sea Turtle Census.

Sea Turtle Census

The Sea Turtle Census consists of the In-Water and Nesting Beach Observation Programs where marine guides and coastal property owners record their observations of sea turtles and can Adopt A Beach or Adopt A Reef. Reports of stranded sea turtles are also important to identify threats to identify ways to mitigate them.

To achieve this census we are relying on interested business and individuals to become supporters and volunteers in the project activities.

Please consider Adopting A Beach or Adopting A Reef today and help us gather information on sea turtle abundance in Belize!

Nesting Beach Observations

The many coastal property owners that live along the coast in Belize are key to understanding how climate change is impacting nesting sea turtles.

Coastal property owners notice change in the shoreline due to erosion, and remember years when turtles nested a lot vs years when turtle did not nest. This is crucial information that we need to determine if climate change is impacting sea turtles in Belize.

Our Nesting Beach Observation Program encourages interested business and individuals along the coast to Adopt A Beach and regularly submit reports on their beach.

Nesting Beach Observations Kits, which include a set of 4 posters, stickers and the 2012 Nesting Beach Observation Calendar, are distributed to volunteers so they can easily record their observations and submit them each month.

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
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 hatches so biologists can check the nest for hatching success.

Kevin Andrewin checks a nest at Gales Point after it hatched to determine success. Photo Linda Searle

Sea Turtle Training Workshops

Kirah Forman, biologist from Hol Chan Marine Reserve, leads necropsy of sea turtles at the biologist training workshop. Photo Linda Searle

Nesting beach characterization training allows organizations to monitor changes in beach profiles that may be due to climate change. Photo Linda Searle

Roberto Herrera from ECOSUR in Mexico lead the nesting beach surveys and showed particpants how to locate and relocate nests. Photo Linda Searle

Sea Turtle Training Workshops that will be held 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 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.

Two New Lyrics from Grand Master

Grand Master is a well known artist in Belize who writes, sings songs, and prepares poems on specific topics. ECOMAR worked with Leroy Young, aka Grand Master, on these two new poems to bring attention to sea turtle conservation in Belize in celebration of the 10th anniversary affording protection to sea turtles.

Be Informed, Be Educated,
Sea Turtles are the Great Ocean Migrators!

10th Anniversary of the Sea Turtle Protection Act (Fisheries Act SI 66 of 2002)

Stakeholder Questionnaires

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

There are questionnaires for:

marine guides
coastal property owners
fishermen
general public
visitors

Please visit the Turtle Watch Questionnaire page to find out how you can contribute to our database. Each and every opinion counts!

Prepare Annual Report

All of the activities of the Belize Turtle Watch Program have the goal of determining 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.

The data collected from the reports received during the in-water, nesting beach observations, from stranding reports and from the questionnaires will be included in an annual report that will be produced each year.

The goals and activities outlined in Belize Sea Turtle Recovery Action Plan (STRAP) from 1992 will be reviewed and updated to reflect goal's for the next 5 to 10 to 20 years, so that we can see how climate change is impacting sea turtle populations in Belize.

Acknowledgments

To achieve the goal of our slogan - Protecting Turtles Today for Tomorrow - we rely on the support of many stakeholder groups to submit their sightings and Adopt A Beach or Adopt A Reef. Thank you for your continued support as we work towards estimating sea turtle abundance in Belize!

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!

ECOMAR has made stickers for the Turtle Watch Project for distribution to diver operators and resorts.

Sea Turtle Census Radio Ad

Sea Turtle Fishery Regulations

Turtle Watch Posters

The Belize Turtle Watch Program has developed 4 posters: the Sea Turtles of Belize and Sea Turtle Life Cycles were developed for the Belize Sea Turtle Expo in 2009, and Stranded Sea Turtles and Sea Turtle Census were developed in 2011.