A Maldives’ Sea Turtles Tale

Monday 16th of December 2019

A Maldives’ Sea Turtles Tale

The continuous rise in ocean-bound plastic in Maldives is devastating. For a country that highly depends on tourism, this leads to hazardous effects in various ways. From crabs to turtles, dolphins and even whale sharks get caught in huge netballs floating around and they end up consuming tiny plastic particles in the ocean.

Every year, it is estimated that 640,000 tonnes of ghost nets are discarded at sea. The Olive Ridley Project is on a research mission to build evidence on the impact of ghost nets in the Indian Ocean, and particularly on Olive Ridley turtles, and to fill the gaps in scientific knowledge of sea turtles in the Maldives. Under this research, solutions have been discovered on how to reduce ghost gears that trap sea turtles. This includes using block chain data storage technology to improve traceability and accountability in the fishing industry and establishing recycling facilities to discourage fishermen from dumping gear in the sea. Let’s make the Maldives and the world a safer place for sea turtles.