Four green turtles and one hawksbill turtle have been tagged with satellite tracking devices on their shells at Kenya’s Kiunga Marine National Reserve - one of the country's most important marine turtle nesting grounds.

The relatively pristine and isolated Kiunga beaches provide a key refuge for the turtles.

WWF, together with the Kenya Wildlife Service and the local Kiunga community, are protecting these nests, which see over 11,000 hatchlings make a dash to the sea each year.

But how many will survive?

Marine turtles face a number of threats ranging from poaching to natural predation. Each year, tens of thousands of turtles are caught accidentally in fishing trawls, on long-line hooks and in fishing nets. 

Six of the seven species of marine turtles are listed as "endangered" or "critically endangered".

WWF’s turtle satellite tracking programme will monitor the five turtles released in Kenya to learn more about their migration routes, feeding habits and threats. Information fed back to scientists on land will help improve conservation efforts to protect these majestic species of the sea.