Ali Hamadi, a turtle conservationist, feeds a turtle swimming in a lagoon in Zanzibar. Credit: David Duni/IPS
ZANZIBAR, Tanzania, November 25 (IPS) – On a warm morning at Matemwe, a small crowd gathers behind a rope barrier as the sand begins to tremble. A tiny head pushes through a soft mound of earth, then another, and another. Within minutes, the shallow nest—protected for weeks by a ring of wooden stakes and mesh—comes alive with the rustle of dozens of hatchlings. Volunteers crouch nearby, recording the emergence time and shading the small creatures with their hands to protect them from swooping gulls.
There is no fanfare as the newborn turtles scurry instinctively toward the shoreline, guided by the rising sun. For volunteers who have monitored the hatchery for weeks, it is a moment of triumph. The turtles are released immediately—scientists say their survival chances increase when they reach the ocean quickly, sharpening their orientation for waters increasingly threatened by plastic pollution, overfishing, and warming currents.
This is the rhythm during breeding season at the Marine Turtle Hatchery in Matemwe, a village on Zanzibar’s northeastern coast where efforts to save one of the world’s most ancient marine species happen along white-sand beaches.
A Frontline for Life Below Water
Zanzibar’s coastline attracts tourists to its blue waters and coral reefs. But the ecosystem beneath is strained by pollution, habitat loss, and unregulated fishing. Matemwe, long known for its pristine beaches, is now emerging as an unexpected frontline in marine conservation.
Central to this work is a community-driven project supported by International Volunteer HQ (IVHQ), where volunteers work with local marine biologists to protect endangered sea turtles and bolster marine life.
“These hatcheries are vital to saving turtles and restoring the ecosystem. Every hatchling we protect supports reefs, fisheries and the livelihoods of communities that depend on the ocean,” says Ali Hamadi, a marine conservation officer in Zanzibar.
“Every nest we protect secures years of future life in the ocean, from turtles to the fish that rely on healthy reefs,” he says
Rescuing a Species
Most of Matemwe’s turtle nests are on beaches threatened by pollution and high tides. Volunteers routinely monitor nesting grounds, relocate threatened nests to safer areas within the hatchery, and patrol the shorelines for signs of digging.
“It’s delicate work,” explains Hamadi. “We move the eggs only when absolutely necessary. We must keep their environment natural.”
Volunteers routinely remove plastic bags, fishing nets, and discarded bottles that often suffocate turtles or trap hatchlings before they can reach the sea.
A Battle Against Pollution
Marine biologists say the biggest threat to turtles in Matemwe is pollution due to the island’s growing plastic waste management crisis. Plastics often wash up on the shores where turtles lay their eggs, and discarded fishing gear drifts across the reef.
“Waste is killing our ocean,” says Hamadi. “Turtles mistake plastic for jellyfish, they get entangled in nets, and their nesting habitats are shrinking. We cannot save turtles without tackling the waste problem.”
A Global Mission
The Matemwe hatchery contributes directly to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water. By protecting turtle nests, rehabilitating beaches, and raising awareness, the project strengthens an ecosystem that supports fishing, seaweed farming, and tourism.
The turtle conservation efforts in Matemwe happen against the backdrop of a growing global crisis—microplastic pollution—that is rapidly becoming one of the deadliest threats to marine life.
A new study, based on the analysis of 10,000 dead marine creatures, reveals that microplastics are more lethal than previously thought. The growing pollution caused by microplastics has already been linked to the deaths of turtles, whales, and seabirds.
Analysis found that just one sugar cube–sized amount of plastic will kill 50 percent of Atlantic puffins. Loggerhead turtles die after ingesting half a cricket ball’s worth, while a large harbor porpoise can be killed by a sixth of a soccer ball. The research—published in PNAS and conducted by Ocean Conservancy—also found that 90 percent of seabirds had hard plastics in their gut and that soft plastics, especially bags, are a major killer of sea turtles.
Its lead author, Dr. Erin Murphy, says, “Overall it’s much smaller than you might think, which is troubling when you consider that more than a garbage truck’s worth of plastics enters the ocean every minute.”
What it Means for Zanzibar
Speaking with IPS, Batuli Yahya, a marine researcher at the Institute of Marine Sciences (IMS), University of Dar es Salaam, warned that the findings should alarm policymakers in East Africa.
“The findings show plastic pollution is an immediate and measurable killer of marine life.”
She notes, “When evidence shows that a sugar cube-sized amount of plastic can kill half of a seabird population, it means our current assumptions are deeply flawed. The toxicity is far more acute than what existing regional policies assume.”
Yahya warns that species found in Tanzanian waters face the same risks.
“Our green turtles, hawksbills, and migrating seabirds face exactly the types of plastics identified as most lethal. This means the threat is already embedded in our food webs.”
Urgent Policy Response
“We cannot treat plastics as a simple issue of beach cleanliness. They are a biodiversity threat on the same scale as overfishing and habitat loss.”
She calls for stronger bans, better waste systems, and strict controls on fishing communities.
“We need to accelerate the enforcement of existing bans, expand them where necessary, and introduce incentives for biodegradable alternatives, especially in coastal economies.”
A Final Warning
“The study highlights how little we know about the lethal thresholds of plastics for our own species. We urgently need Tanzanian-specific data, because without it, our conservation strategies will always lag behind the science,” Yahya says.
“If plastic can kill a seabird with six tiny pieces or a turtle with a few hundred fragments, then what we see in the Indian Ocean is slow, silent poisoning. The longer we delay decisive action, the more species we risk losing.”
IPS UN Bureau Report
© Inter Press Service (20251125083307) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service
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