WWF to launch marine turtle protection project
Update: 06/01/2009
The project in three central provinces – Binh Dinh, Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa – will raise local people’s awareness of marine turtle conservation and how to save turtles that are caught in fishing nets, Nguyen Thi Dieu Thuy, WWF’s fisheries officer, said.
One of the project’s main activities will be a pilot program for circle-shaped hooks used in yellow fin tuna fishing, she said.
Supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Dutch company IbroMar B.V, the Marine Turtle Bycatch and Longline Observer Program will continue until January 2010.
Its first stage was launched in November 2006 at the three provinces and ran for more than two years.
NOAA is an agency under the US Department of Commerce.
IbroMar B.V Company is one of the leading buyers of Vietnam’s longline caught yellow fin tuna.