Be The Change!

Why Do Turtles Get Stranded ?
turtles were injured. (Information from Olive Ridley
Project).
Sea turtles are one of the most endangered species on
earth. Population numbers have decreased by more than
95 percent since they were first described in the early
1800s. They used to be common sightings along the coasts
of Qatar and other Gulf countries, but are now slowly
disappearing due to a variety of factors including poaching
for their meat, illegal fishing, entanglements in plastics and
coastal development.
Sea Turtles get stranded by getting entangled in ghost
gear (Abandoned fishing nets, hooks etc.). Or, they could be
attacked by a predator, and drift towards the shore. Most
turtles get stunned by cold weather, and are paralyzed for
hours. Many turtle strandings are caused by human
activity e.g vessel strikes, entanglement etc. 37 dead and
injured sea turtles were found at the northern Aegean and
Sea of Marmara between 2010 and 2017, of which 34 were
loggerhead sea turtles and 3 were green sea turtles. The
frequency of stranding was 4.62 turtles per year. All green
sea turtles were dead, whereas 16 of the loggerhead sea
If you find a sea turtle stranded on the beach,
call the Ministry call center (184) to report
your observation and findings. Or, you could
call the national helpline for turtles (189). If
you see a hatchling emerging, do not interfere
with it. Switch off any bright lights and stay
clear of the path to the ocean. Do not pick
them up with your bare hands, or bring them
towards the ocean. You could pass germs and
bacteria to the baby hatchling with your bare
hands. Hatchlings need to imprint where they
were born, so they can come back later. They
need to warm up their muscles for the big
swim they have after they get into the ocean.