THe Maritime students are back!

Beach patrol on Anse Grand Police

Hi I’m Esthel Didon from Seychelles Maritime Academy and I’m  studying Advanced Certificate in Fisheries Science and Fishing Technology. I’m currently on attachment at MCSS (Marine Conservation Society Seychelles) at Intendance, WCRC & Terrapin Project.

During the work attachment trapping is one of the many activities taking place here. Trapping is done to catch terrapins around the wetland to monitor their development, as in growth and weight, and also marking them by colouring their scutes with nail polish for identification. Treatment can also take place if needed. There two species of terrapins found in Seychelles and they are both critically endangered, those are the Black muds and the Yellow belly. The traps for the terrapins are set on Mondays and are continuously monitored during the week for any terrapins, then the traps are removed at the end of the week which is on Fridays.

Invasive plant removal

In addition to the above, removal of invasive species is also done when necessary, as the word itself says it’s to prevent its invasion in the wetland. The invasive species causes many threats to the wetland most especially the terrapins, that might eventually create an imbalance in the wetland ecosystem.

Beach clean up

Nevertheless, beach patrol takes place everyday during the turtle’s peak season (mainly for the Hawksbill species), however when its not the peak season the beach patrol is done only once a week on 14 beaches down south that are covered for any turtle related activities such as nests, tracks, hatchlings and also human impacts (such as poaching, picnicking and pollution). The Green turtles usually nest all year round.

Besides the field work, there’s also interaction with the guests where I need to take the guests for a tour around the center and explain how things work, especially about the project itself.