May 2012: The May issue of the Indian Ocean-South East Asian (IOSEA) Marine Turtle Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) e-newsletter reports on turtle releases in Eritrea and capacity-building in Myanmar.

The newsletter reports that two hawksbill turtles, one juvenile and one old female, were released to their natural habitat along Eritrea’s coast on 15 March 2012, after a period of convalescence. The turtles were the first of the species to be tagged in front of the public and media. The release was designed to publicize turtle conservation work and highlight the need to protect marine species and their habitats in the coastal areas and islands of the Eritrean Red Sea. The information from the tagged turtles is expected to help determine the migration of these species, and identify the best conservation efforts in concert with fellow countries where the animals migrate.

Another article highlights that Myanmar/Burma is the third Signatory State to benefit from the IOSEA Technical Support and Capacity-Building Programme. A training was held in Yangon/Rangoon and a coastal field site from 28 March-2 April 2012. Structured lectures were carried out over three days at the headquarters of the country’s Fisheries Federation.

Finally, the newsletter reports that the Southwest Indian Ocean Fisheries Project (SWIOFP) has provided a small number of satellite transmitters for deployment in Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles and Tanzania. [Publication: IOSEA E-News]