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STINASU invites volunteers
to help with its marine turtle monitoring program during the
nesting season from February till August. The main activities
under this program are to identify and count the number of
marine turtle nests made at the various beaches, and to assess
the health of the adult turtles. No special knowledge or
experience is required; necessary on-the-job training will be
given in the field. A lot of motivation and a bit of stamina,
patience and understanding are needed. Four species of marine
turtles nest in Suriname:
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The Green
Turtle (Chelonia mydas), local name Krape
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The Olive
Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), local name Warana
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The
Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), local name Aitkanti
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The Hawksbill
(Eretmochelys imbricata), local name Karet
Every year these marine turtles
come ashore to lay their eggs on our beaches in the Galibi
Nature Reserve and the Matapica area. Together with Trinidad,
French Guyana and Guyana, Suriname is the last and major
stronghold for Leatherbacks. It is of international importance
that these marine turtles be protected. The volunteer has to
make a commitment of working fourteen days at one of the beaches
(Babunsanti, Pruimeboom en Samsambo or the Matapica Beach). The
main activities under this program are to identify and count the
number of marine turtle nests made at the various beaches, and
to assess the health of the adult turtles.
Daily volunteer work at the beaches
Volunteers will participate in surveys during the night and the
day. The night survey is from 9 pm, mostly at high tide, till
about 2 or 3 am in the morning. The day survey is from 6 am till
about 9 am. While walking on the beach one has to look for
crawls (tracks in the sand made by the turtle with its body and
flipper) and marine turtles coming ashore to lay their eggs.
Once a marine turtle comes ashore to lay its eggs, you have to
identify the species. Since the tracks of different species of
marine turtles are so distinctive, it is also possible to
identify the species without seeing it. It is important to check
the adult turtles for tags, cuts and wounds, or other
distinguishing marks or injuries.
After the daily marine turtle monitoring routines, there will be
enough free time for other activities e.g. relaxing, swimming,
hiking and bird watching. The coast of Suriname is the breeding
and feeding ground for thousands of waterfowl, so enjoy ...
For more information about the Marine Turtle Monitoring &
Conservation Program contact the
coordinator
Volunteers Sea
Turtle Monitoring Program
STINASU.volunteerwork@gmail.com
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