Olive Ridley Project

The Olive Ridley Project (ORP) is on a mission to protect sea turtles and their habitats through rescue and rehabilitation, education and outreach, and scientific research. At the core of our work is a passionate and dedicated team of scientists, veterinarians, conservationists, citizen scientists and volunteers. We pride ourselves in being able to collaborate with a wide range of diverse groups in order to reach our goal and fill data gaps in sea turtle conservation.

The Olive Ridley Project (ORP) was founded by Dr Martin Stelfox in 2013. Working as a biologist in the Maldives, he encountered a countless number of olive ridley sea turtles entangled in abandoned, lost, or discarded fishing nets. Martin was curious to understand why this was happening and questioned where the nets were coming from. He decided to enlist the help of other biologists and citizen scientists to help answer these questions. His dedication and passion for helping these prehistoric reptiles formed the foundations of the ORP, which later expanded its mission to take a multifaceted and holistic approach to protecting sea turtles and their habitats.

The name “Olive Ridley Project” is testament to our humble beginnings, documenting olive ridley turtle entanglements in the Maldives. Although we have since expanded our mission, our name remains the same. It is a a reminder of where it all started and why we do what we do!