IMIS - Marine Onderzoeksgroepen

Several species of sea turtles can be observed in waters off the Canary Islands (Eastern Atlantic). One of them is the green turtle (Chelonia mydas), less frequent than the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), and with little information.

The NGO ADS Biodiversidad is currently developing a project based on the green turtle and this satellite tracking programme forms part of it. The aims of this project are to determine the origin of these individuals, know their distribution in this area, determine the habitats that they are using and define if they are linked or not to protected areas (e.g. Natura 2000 network). Furthermore, the main pressures and threats that are affecting to this species will be determined.

Results of this project will be disclosed among the local population, that poorly know the presence of the species in Canarian waters, even for some professionals that interact directly with them (e.g. fishermen and divers).