Shark & Turtle Conservation In Seychelles

We appreciate your ongoing support for the Shark and Turtle conservation project in the Seychelles.

Sicklefin lemon shark pups are an important part of the marine ecosystem and contribute to the diversity of coastal environments. Studying their behavior, growth, and development helps us to better understand the biology and conservation needs of lemon sharks as a whole.

Lemon shark pups are primarily found in shallow coastal waters, including mangroves, estuaries, and coral reefs. They are known to inhabit both saltwater and brackish water environments. Around Curieuse, they are found in a bay where there was originally a wall structure to create a space to farm turtles. This area allows for a semi protected environment for the pups.

 Lemon sharks are listed as Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). They face threats from overfishing, habitat degradation, and the impacts of climate change. Protecting their nursery habitats and implementing sustainable fishing practices are crucial for their long-term survival.

Your support has meant we are able to monitor the lemon shark population including the pups. Your funds have helped purchase resources to aid in monitoring processes.

The third quarter of 2022 saw the continuation of all of the Curieuse turtle and shark conservation projects. We finished the peak of turtle and shark seasons, with daily checks of the turtle nesting beaches for new nests and the excavation of nests as well as assessing the nesting success, and continued monitoring of the Lemon shark juveniles.

The third quarter showed healthy populations of both species, especially considering it was low season. A total of 15 nests were excavated and a further 22 activities were recorded.

For the juvenile lemon sharks in the marine national park, the numbers slowed down which is to be expected. A total of 5 were caught and tagged. In total 3 Scalloped Hammerheads were caught in the second and third quarter which is record high. We’re still in the process of analysing this rare occurrence and finding out why it’s happened. We’re aiming to conduct a drone surveillance survey to assess whether there are more non-target species in the marine national park. 

We're planning to retrieve the 12 acoustic receivers from the seabed surrounding Curieuse Island in the coming months so that we can further analyse the juvenile sicklefin Lemon sharks behavioural patterns so assess if the marine park boundaries are sufficient. 

For the third quarter of 2022 we continued the great progress in research and conservation of sharks and turtles in Curieuse Marine National Park. We are so fortunate to have incredible people supporting our work, and without that we wouldn’t be able to continue to successfully conserve these endangered species.

We want to thank you so much on behalf of the park for helping, and hope that you continue to support our work into the future too.

The second quarter of 2022 saw the continuation of Curieuse turtle and shark conservation projects.

We finished the peak of turtle and shark seasons, with daily checks of the turtle nesting beaches for new nests and the excavation of nests as well as assessing the nesting success, and continued monitoring of the Lemon shark juveniles.

The second quarter showed healthy populations of both species. A total of 62 nests were excavated whilst 8 female Hawksbill turtles were tagged and a further 70 turtle activities recorded. 

For the juvenile lemon sharks in the marine national park, the numbers slowed down which is to be expected. A total of 29 were caught and tagged. In toal 3 Scalloped Hammerheads were caught in the second quarter which is record high. We’re still in the process of analysing this rare occurrence and finding out why it’s happened. 

We're planning to retrieve the 12 acoustic receivers from the seabed surrounding Curieuse Island in the coming months so that we can further analyse the juvenile sicklefin Lemon sharks behavioural patterns so assess if the marine park boundaries are sufficient. 

For the second quarter of 2022 we continued the great progress in research and conservation of sharks and turtles in Curieuse Marine National Park. We are so fortunate to have incredible people supporting our work, and without that we wouldn’t be able to continue to successfully conserve these endangered species. We want to thank you so much on behalf of the park for helping, and hope that you continue to support our work into the future too.

The beginning of 2022 saw the continuation of all of the GVI Curieuse turtle and shark conservation projects. We were in the peak of turtle and shark seasons, with daily checks of the turtle nesting beaches for new nests and the excavation of nests in full swing to assess the nesting success, and continued monitoring of the Lemon shark juveniles.

The start of the year started off strongly with turtle hatchlings being discovered from 8th Januar. In total 31 adult female Hawksbill turtles were tagged whilst a total of 302 total turtle activities were recorded.

The juvenile sharks were also busy tracking themselves after the implantation of 20 acoustic transmitters, with their acoustic signals being automatically recorded on 12 fixed receivers throughout their habitat. The preliminary results showed that out of 329,208 acoustic detections, only 1,203 of those detections were in the deeper waters off of Curieuse. This shows that the juvenile sharks strongly prefer the shallow waters of the island and further highlights the importance of protecting it, especially the mangrove areas. Due to the success of this tracking project we’re currently in the process of extending the project to discover where the small population of sharks that leave the Marine National Park go.

For the first quarter of 2022 we continued the great progress in research and conservation of sharks and turtles in Curieuse Marine National Park. We are so fortunate to have incredible people supporting our work, and without that we wouldn’t be able to continue to successfully conserve these endangered species. We want to thank you so much on behalf of the park for helping, and hope that you continue to support our work into the future too.