Earthwatch is one of the scientific organisations that has made love earth possible. An international team of researchers led by Dr Ana Canadas and Ric Sagarminaga provide the valuable information and insight for the loggerhead turtle tracking section

At a glance
In their capacity as Earthwatch scientists, Ana and Ric are based in the Alboran Sea aboard their impressive research ship, the Toftevaag, a restored Norwegian fishing vessel.

The crew of scientists and volunteers conduct pioneering studies into the lives and habits of turtles and other marine species in these extraordinarily rich waters. Crucially, the research is shared with local fishermen in order to devise ways to protect the region's diverse marine life.

Meet the people
Dr Ana Canadas is a principal scientist aboard the Toftevaag and has studied marine biology, artificial reefs, marine turtles and cetaceans throughout the western Mediterranean basin. She gained her PhD at the University Autonoma of Madrid and is a respected member of several international scientific bodies. Since 1992, Ana has also directed a cetacean monitoring programme with a volunteering system that won the 'Best Nature Product' at the International Tourism Fair of Madrid.

Ric Sagarminaga is the skipper of the Toftevaag and also one of the principal scientists. Since studying biology at the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland, Ric has spent most of his time at sea sailing research and conservation vessels including the Greenpeace ship Sirius, where he met Ana. Together in 1989 they began restoring and converting the Toftevaag for a new life researching marine species in the Alboran Sea. Ric is general coordinator for the Spanish Cetacean Society and also leads the team's marine turtle research. 

Other researchers and volunteers made valuable contributions to the turtle tracking for this website, including Jeppe Dalgaard Balle, a marine biologist with the University of Copenhagen. Jeppe specialises in the use of acoustic devices to deter turtles from biting on fishing lines. A special mention must also go to the resident canine Noa, everybody's favourite salty sea dog.

What does the organisation do?
Earthwatch is an international environmental charity that supports scientific field research around the world and inspires people to get involved with hands-on conservation. There are around 130 Earthwatch projects in 55 countries, gathering critical information about the planet’s endangered species, threatened habitats and vulnerable ecosystems. Results from these projects assist conservation efforts and leave a legacy of knowledge and skills within local communities.
 
Through Earthwatch, ordinary people can become directly involved in protecting the planet’s wildlife by working as volunteers alongside leading scientists, many of them working within their own communities. Whether the volunteers are monitoring climate change in Ecuador’s rainforests, helping the community in Kenya to protect endangered black rhinos, studying dolphins off the coast of Scotland or reducing turtle egg poaching in Costa Rica, their valuable contribution helps to further our understanding and improve our stewardship of the natural world.

Earthwatch is one of the largest environmental charities funding long-term scientific field research. It is also the largest active environmental charity in many tropical countries with critical ecological problems. It achieves all this by putting ordinary people together in the field with committed scientists like Ana and Ric for up to two weeks at a time.

What is it doing for love earth?
In September 2007 the team fitted a satellite tag to a loggerhead turtle off the southern coast of Spain. This isn't as easy as it sounds. A keen eye is needed to spot turtles even in the calmest conditions, and they soon dive below the surface if disturbed. Our turtle, named Alboran, was found after many days of searching.

Love earth producer Simon Mackie and photographer Tom Salt were also invited aboard the Toftevaag to experience life on a real working research ship. Photographs and video of their time at sea will soon be posted on this website. 'It was a privilege that I'll never forget,' said Simon, 'sun, sea and real science – what more could you want?' Visit the website to find out how you can join Ana, Ric and the other researchers.

Where will Alboran go and will she avoid danger in these heavily fished waters? Follow her journey online with maps, facts, photos and regular updates from Ric Sagarminaga. This is real scientific discovery as it happens, brought to your desktop by dedicated experts in the field.

Why track turtles?
Each year over 60,000 loggerhead turtles are entangled or accidentally hooked on fishing long-lines intended for tuna and swordfish. Around half of this 'bycatch' occurs in the Alboran Sea and it is a major threat to the species, occurring at the crossroads of loggerhead migrations from the nesting sites in Africa, America and the eastern Mediterranean.

Ana and Ric have developed some simple measures that fishermen can use to reduce these deaths. Long-lines can have 200,000 hooks, each baited by squid – a favourite turtle snack. Tests show that using fish instead of squid can reduce turtle bycatch by 85 per cent. Trials are also underway with different hook shapes, setting hooks at different depths and times, acoustic devices and teaching fishermen how to release any turtles they find still alive.

The satellite tracking featured on love earth will help the scientists to build up a profile of where loggerheads go and how they use this rich but very busy habitat. This information can then be used by the fisheries to guide their fleets away from high risk areas and times in order to secure a sustainable future for both the fisherman and the wonderful turtles.