Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF – Fri-Yay/Good News

~ John W. Howell
A ranger measuring a turtle’s shell and collecting data at the Canto camp. Image courtesy of The Turtle Foundation.

Today’s good news story comes from Mongabay.com and was sent to me by my correspondent Noelle Granger. Thank you, Noelle.

Former poachers guard Cabo Verde’s endangered sea turtles

by

Former sea turtle hunters in Cabo Verde, off the coast of West Africa, have shifted to loggerhead turtle conservation work along the archipelago nation’s main nesting beaches. The change was propelled by 2018 legislation that criminalized killing threatened turtle species, Sonam Lama Hyolmo reported for Mongabay.

Rangers, around a dozen of whom used to poach or hunt turtles, now patrol key beaches where turtles lay their eggs, walking several kilometers each night during the nesting season, which runs from June to October. Turtle meat has historically been consumed in Cabo Verde and many other regions, creating a conflict between conservation needs and local customs. However, awareness campaigns and employment opportunities are helping to bridge that gap.

“I had turtle meat for personal consumption and never realized I could make a living out of conserving them,” Roni Nelson Batista Ramos, a ranger and camp coordinator at the Turtle Foundation, told Mongabay. “But now, I guard them against the poachers, and it’s motivating to see how these efforts have driven positive impacts for their conservation.”

Ramos and others monitor around 31 kilometers (19 miles) of coastline, patrolling the beaches on foot, and using drones and dogs for added assistance.

Roughly two-thirds of loggerhead turtle nesting activity in Cabo Verde happens on the eastern island of Boa Vista, which has seen a dramatic decline in illegal turtle hunting, according to the Turtle Foundation. In 2007, 1,253 female loggerheads were illegally caught on the island; by 2024, there were just 20. Over the same period, loggerhead turtle nests on Boa Vista increased more than sevenfold.

Cabo Verde’s loggerhead turtle population is the largest in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the third largest in the world, after Oman and southeast Florida.

Another four of the world’s seven sea turtle species roam the waters of the Cabo Verde archipelago: the green turtle (Chelonia mydas), the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), the Olive Ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), and the critically endangered hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata).

Bycatch in fishing is another significant threat to sea turtles in the region. In 2024, the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement (SFPA) renewed a five-year allowance for 56 fishing vessels from Spain, Portugal, and France to fish in Cabo Verdean waters.

Read the full story here. Warning: some photos are disturbing

The good news in this story is that those who hunt turtles are now protecting them, benefiting both. Today’s John Ku talks about reversing trends. I hope you have a beautiful weekend.

Turning a New Leaf © 2026 by John W. Howell

Once there were hunters,

Who saw their game disappear . . .

They turned to help save.

 

73 thoughts on “Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF – Fri-Yay/Good News”

  2. That`s a great change to the better, John! Thanks for sharing these great news. Enjoy a wonderful weekend! xx Michael

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  5. I can tell you that I had my first bowl of turtle soup about 40 years ago at a little place North of Detroit. Simply called The Turtle Soup Inn. Absolutely fabulous. But I’m all for conservation of turtles. They are very neat animals. Good work in Cabo.

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  7. John, thanks for sharing this wonderful story of commitment, and compassion. My heart is lighter for reading it. Turtles are special creatures that are easy to like and have an appeal for their safety and well-being.🐳

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  9. It’s funny… decades ago, my husband and I were at a wild game feast in Ontario with several other couples. One of the items on the menu was snapping turtle. I did not care for it. I am happy to know the turtles are being protected and how cool is it that they are being safe guarded by those who once saw them as dollar signs.

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  13. Thanks for this encouraging story, John. Poaching of turtles is a huge problem in Africa. South Africa has conservation programmes which include paying money to Mozambique to try and prevent people from killing the turtles for food.

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  15. How wonderful to have a change of face, so to speak, such as this! I am always torn when I hear of what poachers do to beautiful beasties like this.

    Wonderful JohnKu, too.

    Have a marvellous Friday, John!

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  20. Fabulous news. Shows what education can do and compassion. When we visit Kauai we love the way they protect the monk seals and as soon as one comes up on the beach as well as the Honu turtles they put cones around them to keep people away.

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  24. That is a positive change in behavior! I can’t imagine ever hunting or harming a beautiful sea turtle. They are incredible to see and swim with. Thank you for sharing this encouraging story and a happy weekend to you. 🐢

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  25. The JohnKu says it all.

    We don’t normally stop to see what harm we are doing, until it affects us. Then we try to make it better.

    I’m happy to hear about this shift in attitude, and reality.

    Turtle meat —YUK!

    𝕆𝖃 🐢🐢 𝕆𝖃

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