Tracking Olive Ridley turtles off Oman’s Masirah Island

Olive Ridley turtles of Masirah: Secrets unraveled for the first time

By Nancy Papathanasopoulo - Masirah Olive Ridley Satellite Telemetry Project Manager

Nestled off the east coast of Oman, Masirah Island is the only place in the Sultanate which hosts nesting grounds of four species of sea turtles; Loggerhead, Green, Hawksbill and Olive Ridley. Different species of turtle come to nest here at different times of the year, usually in good numbers, including Loggerheads by the thousands, possibly the most important nesting population worldwide. The Olive Ridley nesting population is the only substantial one in the Arabian Peninsula yet has not been studied much. To date, not much information about their pre- or post-nesting migrations is available, making conservation efforts more challenging. This mystery is now being unraveled.

Satellite transmitters
A project attaching satellite transmitters on Olive Ridley turtles with the purpose of tracking their movements throughout several months, even years, was launched on Masirah Island in March and April 2008. A team of international experts, (Sponsored by TOTAL S.A. - Muscat Branch and TOTAL Corporate Foundation for Biodiversity and the Sea, and under the auspices of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs) attached nine satellite transmitters on female Olive Ridley turtles.

It wasn't easy to spot these small turtles through moonless nights. The researchers and volunteers walked for many hours every night along the same south-eastern beach in order to locate a healthy, nesting Olive Ridley, wait for her to lay her eggs and cover her nest properly and then, finally, attach the transmitter to her shell before letting her go back into the water. This turtle species, the smallest of all marine turtles, weighs up to 45 kilograms and covers its nests with characteristic "thumps" of the shell to compact the sand, is thought to be the deepest diving hard-shelled turtle, but with little evidence to back up this claim. Very different migration habits - Some go nowhere while others range around the open seas

After 11 months, one turtle is still "online". The nine turtles migrations have shown that some are sedentary, not moving much from their nesting grounds in southeast Masirah for many months, while others take different routes towards the straights of Hormuz, even towards Pakistan or Yemen. Masirah island has once again revealed itself as a very important area for a turtle species, as it does not only serve as a nesting area for them, but certainly also as a key feeding area. Two depth-measuring transmitters were attached but these did not reveal significant information as the two turtles in question stayed in shallow waters until their transmitters ceased transmitting.

The progress of the turtles can be followed on the internet by clicking here.

Masirah is an island where fisheries are extremely important, and it is becoming obvious that a management plan is necessary, taking into account the presence of the Olive Ridley turtles in the area. Satellite telemetry
Satellite telemetry is the most important tool for tracking migration routes of turtles and other animal species, on land or in the world's oceans. As it is costly, it is always difficult to obtain the necessary funds and carry out tracking operations on significant numbers of animals in order to obtain statistically relevant results. Research institutions and private companies all over the Middle East, in cooperation with governments, are now realizing the significance of this tool and are strengthening their cooperation with the aim of intensifying it in the region.

Support and sponsorship
Ali Al-Kiyumi, Director of Nature Conservation at the Ministry of Environment and Climate affairs as well as Salim Al-Saadi, native Masirian and Director of Biodiversity, are following this project very closely and with great interest. Its results were expected with great anticipation. Jean-Claude Farina, Group Representative of TOTAL in Oman and a very keen fan of the turtles himself, is also very enthusiastic about this sponsorship contributing to better knowledge for conservation of this flagship species, the sea turtle, "which represents the preservation of life in the world's oceans and ensures its long-term survival".

Olive Ridley turtle fitted with satellite tracking device in Oman. Credit Nancy Papathanasopoulou