Baraka

Israel Sea Turtle Tracking Project 2008: Loggerhead & Green Turtles

A project of Israel's Sea Turtle Rescue Center.

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Species: Loggerhead
Life Stage: Adult
Gender: Female
Release Date: 2009-02-22 00:00:00
Release Location: Jaser a Zarka
Last Location: 2009-08-21 07:16:47

Adoptive Parents:
The Cooke family
Isabel Weiss
Pat Dornan

Background

Baraka

Baraka, an adult female loggerhead, has been caught in a gill-net in front of the Israeli Mediterranean shore in the Carmel Beach region.
During the summer of 2008, we started an awareness program in the fishermen's village Jasser A Zarka. We got the local school teachers acquainted with our sea turtle conservation project and provided them with educational materials translated to Arabic. After the teachers taught the subject in school, we released three rehabilitated turtles in the village with the students and their fishermen parents. Since then, the fishermen joined our efforts of conservation, therefore converting the old tradition from eating turtles to saving turtles. Baraka, whose name means "blessing" in Arabic, is the fourth turtle that was brought by the fishermen to the Nature and Parks Authority's Sea Turtle Rescue Center. Baraka got caught in a gill-net but fortunately, did not suffer any injury. Thus, shortly after, in excellent health, she was released back to sea with a satellite transmitter, as well as a protector device to the transmitter for the mating season, which begins these days. Since it is believed that she migrated here in order to mate, tracing her path during the mating and nesting season is of much value as it will be the first time we will know of the turtles' behavior and location during the breeding season in Israel 's coastal waters. With this knowledge, we will be able to enhance our understanding in locating certain areas to declare as marine protected areas.