Turtle viewing in Winneba

Phil Allman, an Assistant Professor in the Florida Gulf Coast University’s Department of Biological Sciences, writes:

“I have partnered with the GWD officer in Winneba, who has already established a strong relationship with fishermen and the schools (one school has an environmental club centered around protecting turtles). We are working now to establish a protocol for conducting sea turtle tagging research and offering sea turtle ecotourism along the beaches in Winneba (primarily leatherback and olive ridley sea turtles) starting with the 2011-2012 nesting season (Sept. – March).

I encourage all of your readers to support the program in Winneba by simply stopping over for a night or two to witness the amazing nesting behaivor of the gigantic leatherback sea turtle (6′ in lenght). Winneba is located along the main road between Accra and Cape Coast so it is easy to access for anyone travelling to Kakum National Park. To organize a sea turtle walk in Winneba, please contact the GWD officer at 012934928. The officer in Winneba was recently invited to join the IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group (Ghana’s first member) in recognition of his knowledge and efforts for sea turtle conservation in Ghana.”