Despite being the most common and widely distributed, olive ridley turtle (lepidochelys olivacea) populations have been declining substantially for decades due to unsustainable harvest of eggs and…

Despite being the most common and widely distributed, olive ridley turtle (lepidochelys olivacea) populations have been declining substantially for decades due to unsustainable harvest of eggs and adults, habitat loss and fisheries interactions, with a 30-50% decline reported globally and up to 92% in the central & western pacific ocean (malaysia, thailand, indonesia). The philippines hosts extensive nesting beaches along the west philippines sea/south china sea and the south coast of mindanao, but beach management, conservation interventions and data collection have been until now, disconnected and inaccurate, covering only a fraction of the existing and potential nesting sites, with currently no regional or national data officially available. Through a collaborative network with local stakeholders, the palawan council for sustainable development and the department of environment and natural resources this project will assess the conservation status of the olive ridley turtle in the philippines, through direct nesting beach monitoring, communities patrolling and hatchery management enhancement and expansion, consumption and trade monitoring and mitigation, telemetry and genetics, while collating and managing historical data and citizen science reports in a centralized online database. Outreach programs will aim to identify major threats and possible mitigation measures and identify potential sites for the deployment of bycatch mitigation technologies. Emphasis will be given to understand the impact of the threats on turtle populations' recovery and their connectivity with the pacific island region.