Fundação Maio Biodiversidade — Cabo Verde (2016)

Cabo Verde is home to the third largest loggerhead rookery in the world, and Maio Island hosts the second most important nesting population in the archipelago. Despite Fundação Maio Biodiversidade’s successful community-based sea turtle protection and monitoring program, a high rate of poaching and egg harvesting by locals remains.

A 2016 SWOT grant supported the training of six local community members to monitor beaches and to act as ambassadors in communicating with their communities about sea turtle conservation. Hatchling releases were conducted with local school- children, community leaders and fishers, and members of a high school ecology club.