Sea turtles find protection from Senegal fishermen
JOAL-FADIOUTH, Senegal: In a classic case of “poacher turning gamekeeper”, the fishermen of Senegal have joined forces to protect one of the ocean’s most endangered species - the sea turtle. Three species can be found on the Senegal coast in west Africa. The most populous is the green turtle and they are joined by the loggerhead and leatherhead which can weigh over 600 kg. They are all beautiful creatures but each is threatened by pollution, poaching and, even now, the fishing net.
“Once we were the biggest eaters of turtles, now we have become their biggest protectors,” says Abdou Karim Sall, a fisherman who is now the manager of a protected marine zone through which the turtles pass. Some 30 years ago, turtle meat was sold in the streets of Joal, one of the most important fishing ports in Senegal, and in Fadiouth, the port’s sister village built on an artificial island made from heaps of shells.
“We ate them in the street, we cooked them at home,” says the 56-year-old Sall who leads the management committee for the Marine Protected Area (MPA) of Joal-Fadiouth, two hours south of Dakar. Founded in 2004, and backed by the government, local authorities and several associations, the MPA stretches over 147 sq km and is made up of sandy beaches along a marine strip eight kilometers wide, as well as a network of mangroves and an area of savannah.
It is an area for the protection of endangered migratory species, such as the sea turtle. Its objectives are the conservation of biodiversity, as well as the improvement of fishing yields and socio-economic benefits for the local population. The sea turtles navigate their way along this tropical stretch of the Atlantic during their migration of more than a thousand kilometers between the volcanic archipelago of Cape Verde and GuineaBissau, just south of Senegal, where they return to lay eggs when they reach sexual maturity.
The green turtles are predominantly herbivorous while the other species like to snack on crab and sea urchin. They all graze on the sea grass beds that grow abundantly in the shallow waters of the Senegalese “Petite cote” (small coast), especially in front of Joal. Through their presence the turtles help maintain a fragile biotope, a breeding ground and nursery for many species of fish and this, in turns, boosts the economy - the fishing sector directly or indirectly supports about 500,000 Senegalese.