Marine TurTle research and conservaTion in libya a conTribuTion To safeguarding MediTerranean biodiversiTy legal notice: The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Specially Protected Areas Regional Activity Centre (SPA/RAC) and United Nations Environment Programme / Mediterranean Action Plan (UNEP/MAP) concerning the legal status of any State, Territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of their frontiers or boundaries. copyright: All property rights of texts and content of different types of this publication belong to SPA/RAC. Reproduction of these texts and contents, in whole or in part, and in any form, is prohibited without prior written permission from SPA/RAC, except for educational and other non-commercial purposes, provided that the source is fully acknowledged. © 2021 united nations environment Programme Mediterranean action Plan specially Protected areas regional activity centre Boulevard du Leader Yasser Arafat B.P.337 - 1080 Tunis Cedex – TUNISIA [email protected] for bibliographic purposes, this volume may be cited as: SPA/RAC-UNEP/MAP, 2021. Marine Turtle Research and Conservation in Libya: A contribution to safeguarding Mediterranean Biodiversity. By Abdulmaula Hamza. Ed. SPA/RAC, Tunis: pages 77. cover photo credit: sPa/rac, artescienza copyright of the photos: libsTP The present report has been prepared in the framework of the Marine Turtles project fnanced by MAVA. For more information: www-spa-rac.org Marine Turtle Research and Conservation in Libya A contribution to safeguarding Mediterranean Biodiversity Study required and fnanced by: Specially Protected Areas Regional Activity Centre (SPA/RAC) Boulevard du Leader Yasser Arafat B.P. 337 1080 Tunis Cedex - Tunisia [email protected] LibSTP HQ Team Abdulmaula Hamza (2005-2008, 2015), Almokhtar Saied (2006-2019), Esam Bourass (2005-2010), Ashraf Glidan (2008-2019) Murad Sula (2005-2019), Mohamed Alsharif (2005), Mohamed ELGMEZI (2005), Ali Berbash (2009, 2017-19), Usama Shalouf (2005), Mustafa Almuntasri (2017-2019), Khaled Dofani (2006-2007), Abdulmaola Beshyah (2006-2007), Mohamed Abuzanin (2017-2018), Jaber Yahia (2008-09, 2017), Salah Salem (2008-2010), Ali Alkekli (2005-2006) Elmaki Elagil (2009-10, 2017-19), EGA media team Mohamed Alrameh (2009-10, 2017-19) Ahmed Shaheen (2017-19) Abdulkarim Alharari (2017-19) LibSTP Sirte Team Salih Diryaq (2005-2019), (2007-2018), Hamad AbdAlla (2006-2018), Muftah Elsweede (2006-07), Emhemmed Shaqlouf (2005-2019), Milad Alshatir (2006-2019), Ali Abd-alhadi (2008-2019), Abdelrahman Tbiqa (2006-2010), Ali Daiab (2010, 2018-19), Mohammed Albarq (2009-10), Salem Muftah (2009-10) Abdalhalem Alshatir (Media, 2006-2010), Hussein Meftah (Media, 2006-2010). LibSTP Misurata Team Bashir Swaeeb (2005-2010), Ahmed Akrout (2009-10), Amer Aljamel (2007-09, 2017-19), Mohamed Zaid (2008-10), Ramdan Haloob (2006-10), Rabeea Abouzeed (2009-10), Ali Swalem (2008), Salih Beake (2006-10). LibSTP Tobruk Team Ismael Sakran (2008-2010), Idris Abdulla (2008-10), Salih Ali (2008-10), Kamal Belrahal (2008-10), Muftah hamad (2008-10), Ahmed Mahmoud (2008-10). LibSTP Benghazi Team Khalid Ali (2007-10), Ali Madees (2007-10), Esmaeel Alkunti (2007-10), Abd -Elhafd El-Ganaieen (2007-2019) Walid Alhelali (2018-19), Salah Alhadad (2009-10). LibSTP Aljabal Alakhdar Team Saleh Amnissi (2006-10), Naeem Jamali (2008,2010), Emsaed Buflga (2007-10), Alhassan Mansour (2007-2010) Fathalla Shaqluf (2008-2010, 2017). Marine Biology Research Centre Hisham El-Ghmati (2005), Dau Haddoud (2005), Abdalla A. Elmansori (2006), Mohamed shwehdi (2005) Abdulbasset Abuissa (2007), Ehab Alsharif (2007) . LibSTP Libyan partner teams Bado Society Nader Gareba (2017-19), Fawzi Edhan (2017-19), Abuajla Elhag Ibrahem (2017-19), Emad Banna (2017-19), Muayed Bandaq (2017-18), Nagmi El dresi (2017-19), Siwar Bilm (2017-19), Nader Elazzabi (2017-19), Mahmoud Qileedah (2017-19), Shukry Dhan (2017-19), Said Elazabi (2017-19), Hisham Elfounas (2017-19). The Libyan Organization for Conservation of Nature Abd Alati Elswowayeb (2018-19), Huseen Salem (2018-19), Abdulmunem Albaour (2017-18). Special thanks to The Public Scout and Girl Guides Movement (Sirte branch 2005, 2017) Culture Offce in Sirte (2017-2019) LibSTP International partners • Atef Ouerghi (Regional Activities Centre for Specially Protected Areas - Tunisia) • Lobna Ben Nakhla (Regional Activities Centre for Specially Protected Areas - Tunisia) • Imed Jribi (University of Sfax - Tunisia) • Flegra Bentivegna (Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn - Italy) • Sandra Hochscheid (Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn - Italy) • Fulvio Maffucci (Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn - Italy) • Andreas Demetropolis (Cyprus Wildlife Society - Cyprus) • Luis Cardona (University of Barcelona- Spain) • Carlos Carreras (University of Barcelona - Spain) • Yakup Kaska (Pamukkale University - Turkey ) TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword .......................................................................................................................................................... 5 General Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 8 Chapter 1. Nesting Ecology of Sea Turtles in Libya ........................................................................................... 12 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 12 1.1. Nesting of turtles in Libya .................................................................................................................................... 15 1.2. The Libyan Seaturtle Program .............................................................................................................................. 15 1.3. Objectives of the Libyan Seaturtle Program ........................................................................................................ 15 2. General overview of nesting site of marine turtle in Libya ................................................................................. 15 2.1. Ras Ajdir (Tunisian border) to Misurata- Zone1 .................................................................................................. 16 2.2. Misurata to West Sirte - Zone 2 ............................................................................................................................ 16 2.3. Sirte to Ajdabiya (Zone 3) ..................................................................................................................................... 16 2.4. Ajdabiya to Tolmithah (Zone 4) ............................................................................................................................ 16 2.5. Wadi Kouf to Imsaed (Zone 5) ............................................................................................................................. 16 3. Monitoring Methodology ................................................................................................................................... 18 4. Nesting activity of sea turtles in Libya (2005-2019) .......................................................................................... 19 5. Reproductive parameters .................................................................................................................................. 23 5.1. Curved Carapace Length of nesting females ...................................................................................................... 23 5.2. Stranded Sea Turtles ............................................................................................................................................ 23 5.3. Clutch size ............................................................................................................................................................. 25 5.4. Incubation duration ............................................................................................................................................... 25 5.5. Mass and morphometrics of hatchlings ............................................................................................................. 26 5.6. Adult Turtle tagging .............................................................................................................................................. 26 5.7. Nest predation ....................................................................................................................................................... 27 5.8. Poaching of turtle nests ....................................................................................................................................... 28 6. Training activities: ............................................................................................................................................. 28 7.The national workshops on Seaturtles in Libya .................................................................................................. 29 8.Public awareness activities ................................................................................................................................ 31 Chapter 2. Sex-ratio estimations of loggerhead sea turtle hatchlings in Libyan beaches ................................... 32 1.Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................