Dolphin & Turtle Project

The Dolphin & Turtle Conservation Project aims to monitor bottle nosed dolphin numbers and behavior, loggerhead turtle nesting activity and coral reef condition in order to make recommendations for improving the conservation of marine biodiversity. It involves field data collection via beach walks, boat surveys, swims and dives on the southern coastline of Mozambique around Ponta d' Ouro. It also involves assisting with tourist education and general tourism welcoming & interpretation. The project involves collaboration with a number of other local and international bodies.

Growing exploitation of marine resources is threatening biodiversity along the Mozambique coastline. The coral reefs that so much marine life is dependant on are under threat of exploitation, bleaching, alien invasive species and other ecological changes associated with tourism and other human activities. One of the components of the project is to monitor the condition of coral reefs in the Ponta d Ouro area using methods based on the international reef check program. This involves doing scuba diving transects along the reefs and photographing at fixed points whilst recording benthic cover and indicator species. A four day internationally recognized diving course is provided as part of this project to train you to be able to carry out this coral reef monitoring.

The second component of the project involves research on inshore bottle nosed Dolphins. A number of cetaceans occur off this coastline but most of these are in the deep waters and unlikely to be seen. In addition to the dolphins, hump baked whales are likely to be seen. Dolphins are intelligent social creatures that have fascinated man for thousands of years. They are good indicators of fish populations and can play a flagship role for the conservation of other marine creatures. With the increase of boat and fishing activities their home ranges may become influenced, their food sources diminished and direct mortalities may even result. Most of the research involves investigating dolphin numbers, distribution and behavior by joining tourist launches to record dolphin activity as well as assisting in the cataloguing of individuals based on dorsal fin identification.

The third aspect of the project is the monitoring of the nesting activity of loggerhead and leatherback turtles. Their nesting sites are becoming increasingly threatened by human activity along the beaches and there is also hunting of adults as they lay their eggs. The monitoring involves patrolling the beaches at night during laying season (October-December) recording nest sites and tagging adults where possible, then visiting nests during hatching season (January-March) to record hatching success.