A new sea turtle awareness and conservation project, named RED SEA TURTLE PROJECT, has been launched in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, on Sunday, June 17th.

Conceived by 5 long time Sharm resident PADI scuba diving instructors (Marco Giovannini, Valentina Cucchiara, Nick Poole, Lauren Irwin e Claudio di Manao), the project has been approved and financed by Project AWARE and has gained the support and cooperation by the Ras Mohammed National Park, SSDM, Search and Rescue and Hyperbaric Chamber.

The project is articulated in three different phases:

- The census and mapping of the sea turtle population in the South Sinai Area through sightings report by divers (paper and online).

- The mapping of nesting grounds under the jurisdiction of the Park and their eventual protection from natural predators and illegal fishing through cages and net protection.

- Raising awareness on the problem of sea turtles extinction amongst residents, tourists, local operators and authorities.

The project will involve all diving centres, their guests and the local Bedouin fishing community.

The project coordinators are working to organise meetings with the local authorities, bedouin communities and association with the aim of bringing the project to different levels of intervention and the hope of expanding it to the whole Red Sea area.

If you want to know more, please visit Red Sea Turtle Project

Thanks

Marco