Cobia

Cobia was one of the hawksbills identified by Sam Hunt from Big Blue towards the end of Andaman Turtle Watch’s first season (2024/25) in the North Andaman Sea. Sam described Cobia as small and inquisitive, clearly unbothered by the divers sharing their underwater home. Sam chose the name “Cobia” as a bit of an inside joke – one that only those who have worked as dive professionals in Koh Tao are likely to fully appreciate….

Cobia was one of only three sightings recorded at Turtle Ledge so far in the Andaman Turtle Watch database – and interestingly, each of those three sightings was of a different individual. As Turtle Ledge is not a site frequently visited by local dive centres, it has now earned a place on our list of sites to explore further in coming seasons.

To date, the Surin Islands National Park accounts for 39 sightings and 10 unique individuals in the ATW database, compared to the Similan Islands National Park with 187 sightings and 53 unique individuals. While this might suggest a difference in turtle populations, it is important to remember that Andaman Turtle Watch is still in its early days, and these patterns may reflect research effort rather than actual abundance.

Encouragingly, sites such as Turtle Ledge and Ao Pakad saw more turtle reports toward the end of the season as more citizen scientists became involved. We look forward to expanding research in these areas in the coming years and uncovering the secrets they hold to support sea turtle conservation across the region.