[Coral-List] Olive Ridley Project

[Martin Stelfox]

Dear Listers,

I'm currently working with a team of marine biologists in the Maldives and
we are finding an alarming number of Olive Ridley's trapped in ghost nets.
Injuries received from this entrapment often includes amputations,
lacerations and an array of superficial cuts that lead to a large
percentage of fatalities. To date we have received 49 Olive Ridley's since
23rd January 2011. 41 were found in nets, 4 of the 41 were found dead, 6
were brought back for rehabilitation but died shortly after due to injuries
sustained. 24 were released after rehabilitation and 14 were released
immediately after being freed.
This prompted us to set up a Facebook group called Olive Ridley Project, (
https://www.facebook.com/groups/oliveridley/) Our main focus is to
collaborate information from key stakeholders to find the main origins of
these nets. Using this information we can work towards alternative fishing
methods which  balance the viewpoints of conservationists and local
fishermen in the Indian Ocean.

As a scientific community we would greatly appreciate your support on this
project.

Thank you for reading.

Martin