Community-led rescues are saving Kenya’s sea life

On the shoreline of Watamu, a coastal town on Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast, Teresia Njeri raises her hand to signal her team. Together, they lift a large male green sea turtle into a reinforced carrying sling. The turtle weighs 105 kilograms. Waves break steadily nearby as the group moves in step, careful and practiced.

They pause briefly, hands still resting on the shell, before releasing it into the surf. The turtle hesitates, then pushes forward, disappearing beneath the breaking waves. For Njeri, the moment is profound, another quiet return, another life carried back into the ocean, and a reminder of the shared responsibility that keeps the work going.

Njeri, 26, is part of a new generation of Kenyan coonservationists who are reshaping how marine protection works along the coast. As Marine Education Coordinator at Local Ocean Conservation (LOC), she is helping shift sea turtle conservation from a largely foreign-led effort to one driven by local communities.

Watamu lies about 105 kilometers north of Mombasa and 15 kilometers south of Malindi, within Kilifi County. Its beaches and reefs fall under the Watamu Marine National Park and Reserve and form one of Kenya’s most important nesting and foraging habitats for sea turtles. Njeri’s connection to the ocean began years before her current role.

Before conservation, Njeri trained in hospitality. When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the industry, her plans shifted. Searching for something meaningful, she began volunteering. In 2021, her aunt connected her to Local Ocean Conservation.

“The ocean first became personal to me when I visited Watamu. My aunt was also working with a conservation organization here in Watamu, so she got to explain to me about the importance of the ocean. And that’s how my interest grew in the ocean.”

“That teaching sparked my journey into sea turtle conservation,” Njeri explains.

Today, she works with a team overseeing community-led education programs and coordinating turtle rescue activities at LOC, an organization with deep roots along the Kenyan coast.

Teresia is not only passionate about ocean conservation herself, but she also serves as a role model for other young people, showing them that meaningful work can be found in areas like the Blue Economy. Through her daily tours, she educates tourists and youth on the importance of protecting marine ecosystems, explaining how healthy oceans support fisheries, tourism, renewable energy, and local livelihoods.

During these tours, Teresia engages participants with hands-on learning, teaching them about marine biodiversity, the threats faced by coastal environments, and simple actions they can take to make a difference.

In the past, turtles caught accidentally in fishing nets were often seen as food or income. Today, they are widely recognized as protected species. A 24-hour rescue hotline allows fishermen to call LOC when a turtle is caught. Rescue teams assess the animal on site, releasing it immediately or transporting it for treatment.

If injured or ill, turtles are taken to LOC’s Turtle Rehabilitation Centre, established in 2003 and expanded to include nine tanks and a treatment clinic. Injuries range from net abrasions and hook wounds to severe spear-gun punctures. Turtles are monitored until they are stable enough to return to the ocean.

The African Union (AU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) estimate that Africa’s Blue Economy, encompassing key sectors such as fisheries, tourism, transport, renewable energy, and marine ecosystems, could expand significantly by 2030, generating up to US $405 billion in economic value and creating approximately 57 million jobs if managed sustainably.

This projection underscores the substantial economic importance of healthy marine biodiversity and the need for policies that protect and enhance ocean and coastal ecosystems to realize these benefits.

Through this program, more than 24,000 turtle rescues have been conducted along the Kenyan coast. Fishermen receive a small compensation; about 200 to 300 Kenyan shillings to cover phone costs and time spent waiting.

According to the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act (2025) and Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), poaching or trading in sea turtles carries a maximum fine of Ksh 100 million or life imprisonment. Even possession of turtle products, such as eggs or shells, can result in a Ksh 2 million fine and three years in prison, reflecting Kenya’s zero-tolerance policy toward the exploitation of these critically endangered species.

Muhammed ba Mkuu, a fisherman from Uyombo village, has worked these waters for more than 20 years. Initially skeptical about their involvement in turtle conservation, he became a committed participant after seeing injured turtles treated and released. He estimates he has helped rescue dozens.

“Whenever I accidentally catch a turtle, I make sure to call the Local Ocean Conservation team immediately so they can help with its safe release. Fishermen in my community are well aware that this is what we are supposed to do, and we all understand the importance of protecting turtles,”

Much of Teresia’s work brings her into close contact with fishermen and marine rescue teams, groups that are largely made up of men. Navigating these male-dominated spaces has played a key role in shaping her leadership style.

“I’ve learned authority doesn’t have to be loud or aggressive. People respond best when they feel respected rather than confronted.”

Similar community-led rescue initiatives now operate along much of Kenya’s coastline, from Lamu in the north to Diani in the south. Community protection efforts extend beyond East Africa. In Sierra Leone, community-based marine turtle conservation programs have documented hundreds of nesting sites along the country’s Atlantic coastline and supported the release of more than 38,000 hatchlings.

According to a case study on the IUCN-supported PANORAMA Solutions platform (last updated 09 November 2021), these initiatives engage local beach monitors, former egg collectors, and fishing communities to patrol nesting areas, protect eggs, and raise awareness

The team collaborates closely with a local veterinarian and the Kenya Wildlife Service to support and protect the marine protected areas around Watamu. Despite its impact, the work carries emotional strain.

“The hardest part is seeing a sea turtle coming in when it’s too injured, there’s nothing much that we can help and the sea turtle loses its life,” said Njeri.

Capacity remains a challenge. Njeri’s team monitors 50 to 100 nests each year and has treated more than 808 turtles at the rehabilitation center.

“When a sea turtle loses its life, some cases stay with us, especially when we’ve invested so much time and care to the turtle and the turtle does not make it. What keeps me returning to the job every morning is the goal. It’s not just perfection, it’s about the progress.”

Sea turtles continue to face global threats. According to the IUCN Red List, Hawksbill and Kemp’s Ridley turtles remain Critically Endangered as of October 2025. The Green Sea Turtle, however, has shown signs of recovery, with an estimated 28 percent population increase since the 1970s, based on assessments completed in late 2024. Marine biologist Joey Ngunu, who has contributed to Kenya’s National Sea Turtle Conservation and Management frameworks, emphasizes the importance of long-term planning.

“Turtles always nest where they were born,” Ngunu says. “We’ve seen a turtle swim nearly 4,800 kilometers from the Chagos Islands to the Kenyan coast to forage, then find her way back across the vast sea to her birth beach. How they do that is still a puzzle to us as researchers.”

He adds, “I find the narrative that we need to be taught conservation quite lazy and unscientific. Africans have lived with wildlife for a long time; we naturally know how to conserve it. The real threats are industrialization and commercial fishing, not a lack of local knowledge.”

For Njeri, the most meaningful moments often come during community outreach.

“A good day to me is when people understand how their choices affect sea turtles. And a bad day is encountering repeated human impacts on the shoreline that is affecting the life of our sea turtle.

“If the conservation funding disappeared, maybe tomorrow, I think the bycatch program would still go on because of the trust that we’ve built with the community and the respect that they have about taking care of the sea turtle.”