Join citizen scientists to monitor and protect Aqaba’s sea turtles

Hawksbill, Eretmochelys imbricata, and green turtle Chelonia mydas are globally endangered sea turtles found in Aqaba’s waters.  Sea turtles have several life history attributes that make them vulnerable to extinction.  Sharks were once the main predator of sea turtles but now it is harder for sea turtles to stay alive until the age of twenty, when they reach sexual maturity, because of all the fishing nets and pollution.  Sea turtles have fewer places to lay their eggs as safe sandy beaches are becoming rarer from all the development in the Red Sea.  Climate change and pollution has made it harder to find food. 

The two most common turtles in Aqaba are the hawksbill, Eretmochelys imbricata, and the green turtle Chelonia mydas.  The Royal Marine Conservation Society of Jordan (JREDS) needs your help to monitor the population size, residency (how long do sea turtles call Aqaba home) and survival (probability that sea turtles survive to the next year).  You can join our conservation efforts by submitting your photographs or videos of sea turtles from Aqaba.  If possible, photograph or video both sides of the turtle’s face and top of the shell.   We will then identify the turtle according to its unique shell patterns and scars which allow us to monitor the animals. If you have any questions, please contact us at aqabamanager@jreds.org

This initiative is supported by the Small Grants Program (SGP) funded by the Global Environment Facility and implemented through the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) through a “Using citizen science to monitor coral bleaching and hawksbill sea turtle populations in the Red Sea” project in coordination with Fulbright Commission in Jordan and Ministry of Environment.