In late December 2023, on a remote island in Preah Sihanouk province, off the southwest coast of Cambodia, a team of conservationists uncovered nine nests belonging to sea turtles after more than a decade of searching for them.
Cambodia’s marine turtle population has long been declining, but this discovery has sparked hope among conservationists that the critically endangered hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) and endangered green turtles (Chelonia mydas) have not vanished from Cambodia’s waters.
Nine nests were discovered by volunteers from the Royal Cambodian Navy who are stationed on the island and have been trained by Fauna & Flora to monitor for the presence of sea turtles after a nest was discovered in March 2022.
