With this center, the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco aims to treat, care for, and rehabilitate injured turtles, ultimately releasing them back into the sea. However, it also has an educational purpose for the museum’s visitors in order to raise awareness about the cause of turtles and more broadly the protection of endangered species and the oceans.For years, the Oceanographic Center has been receiving injured turtles brought in by the Port of Monaco’s services or by yachtsmen. However, without the necessary facilities to accommodate and care for them, not all can survive. After several autopsies revealed numerous traces of plastic, the institute began developing the idea of a care center. « Turtles are indicators of the oceans’ health, explains Olivier Dufourneaud, Director of Ocean Policy at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, at every stage of their life, humans impose new challenges on them with coastal urbanization, the orientation of young turtles disrupted by human presence, collisions, bycatch, pollution… they encapsulate the challenging relationship between humans and the sea. »The Oceanographic Museum under constructionThe care center is expected to be adjacent to the museum, facing the sea. Construction began in 2017 and its opening is scheduled for the first half of 2019. The building will consist of a care area reserved for the center’s staff and able to accommodate up to five turtles. Outside, a pool where recovering turtles can regain strength and muscle will be accessible to the public. It will be overhung by a garden where visitors can stroll, Olivier Dufourneaud promises us » a very pleasant and spectacular place « .
Broader awarenessIn addition to the care center, the institute has implemented a larger-scale program to protect these animals with satellite tagging of several specimens, conferences, collaboration projects in French Polynesia or in the Sulu Sea, and calls for sponsorship. The museum will also create a board game to educate the younger audience. In this game, which will be released at the end of the year, each child will play as a species of turtle and must try to overcome the traps that will appear before him. For the Ocean Policy Director » this game is not pessimistic, we will favor a playful and explanatory approach perfectly balanced for young children « . Also noteworthy is the release of a book to learn everything about turtles, their relationship with humans, the environment, and the dangers they face.
The future center should accommodate injured turtles in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, but it will be more difficult to save the many individuals that wash ashore each year in Corsica. » Something needs to be created there, there are large areas where turtles pass, it is necessary to treat them locally to avoid long transports that could be harmful to them » concludes Olivier Dufourneaud.
Margot Harty
Presentation of the care center project:
Register
Register
Register
Register