 VideoLights
by Roger Roth
Endangered Sea Turtles
While traveling through the numerous airports necessary to get
from Loreto, Mexico to Cincinnati, Ohio, I decided it would be
appropriate to share my experiences in Loreto at the 8th annual
meeting of Grupo Tortuguero (GT). GT is a non-profit organization
set up as a networking venue for scientists, organizations and
institutions around the world to get together and compare notes
and activities dedicated to sea turtle conservation.
As an aside, GT has been a recipient for donations from the
Underwater Images Photo/Video Competition since its inception.
These donations are earmarked for scholarships to allow Mexican
sea turtle fishermen to attend this convention who have never
before attended. Once they catch on to the ideas and direction
of GT, they return to their respective communities and pass on
what they’ve learned.
Threats to endangered sea turtles include poachers taking and
selling turtle meat, shells, and eggs on the black market as
well as by-catch from fishing nets, trawlers and longlines. These
are all facts of marine life with which we are familiar. What
we aren’t so familiar with are the efforts by organizations
such as Grupo Tortuguero.
GT began as an effort to educate people of the Baja Peninsula
about the plight of these beautiful shelled endangered creatures.
As time progressed, many people on the Peninsula became motivated
and empowered to act on conservation and preservation principles.
Each year, new towns and villages of the Baja Peninsula become
interested in this effort and join GT.
Currently, there are at least 11 communities that participate
in hands-on monitoring processes such as population counts, catch
and release programs, genetic identifications, satellite tagging,
and nesting habits. There are probably another 18 more communities
that are beginning to learn about the importance of sea turtle
population sustainability and subsequently putting their first
foot forward towards a more proactive stance by attending the
meetings in Loreto each year. This is an amazing feat considering
all of the Mexican sea turtle fishermen (read poachers) that
have been working the Peninsula for generations!
Some of the Peninsula’s worst poachers have now come aboard
with GT with the knowledge that their work will perpetuate a
greater awareness in their communities (names withheld). This
work not only includes conservation of sea turtles, but also
passes itself on to other conservation necessities. The 300 attendees
at the 2006 GT convention recycled all of their plastic forks,
Styrofoam cups and plates, and paper napkins, etc. into separate
large cardboard boxes throughout the entire weekend.
The meetings of this 4-day event are broken down into different
types. The first seminars are given by leaders of GT and other
non-profits such as ProPeninsula (www.propeninsula.org), and
set the stage for the remainder of the weekend. The next level
of meetings includes leaders from each town or other non-profits
presenting their concerns, activities and successes. Finally,
on the last day, each community breaks off into a separate group
and further discusses their future plans, many times assisted
by more knowledgeable leaders to help with the implementation
of these plans.
Each of these community groups display pictures of their projects
all weekend around the main auditorium where all of the main
meetings and meals are held. (The meals are catered and served
buffet-style for the entire weekend and are included in the registration
fees.) Some communities also display the posters, books and magazines
they use for their individual educational outreach programs.
GT has had catch and release programs where they’ve used
satellite tags to track the turtles from the time of their release.
After ascertaining the genetic make-up of the turtles, which
will tell approximately where the turtles were born, the researchers
will theorize where the turtles will return to nest. Some turtles
have been tracked from Mexico to Japan’s nesting beaches
as theorized! There is also a link on their website where school
children and/or anyone can follow each turtle’s tracking
daily.
GT’s educational outreach programs have included media
such as TV, radio broadcasts, comic books, posters, and magazines
to mention a few. They also have their own monthly bulletin that
includes a turtle story. GT’s exposure on the Internet
begins with their website, www.grupotortuguero.org/content/1/2/4.html.
But I can tell you that many other non-profits around the world
support and belong to Grupo Tortuguero.
It used to be that the attendees would also bring their wives
and children for the weekend, but early on, there weren’t
specific activities geared towards the children. Once this was
recognized years ago, a children’s program was instituted.
Now that program has its own educational director and plans for
50 children each year with ages ranging from about 4-18 years
old.
The children’s activities include putting on a puppet
show about sea turtles for the adults, learning how populations
of sea turtles can increase or decrease in the oceans, learning
about tracking the turtles, and learning about the diseases turtle
meat can cause. Their activities are hands-on ones such as cutting
out various sized turtles of different species and pasting them
to one large sheet, using the marionettes and puppets in a show,
and making posters, as well as tie-dying a large turtle banner
to display in the main auditorium. During the awards ceremony
at the final dinner, an endearing couple of kids dressed up in
large turtle outfits and led the entire audience in a line dance
around the auditorium.
GT is beginning to implement a new outreach program where they
will have a “Tortuga Mobile” that will visit non-monitoring
communities to either create or keep the spirit alive in those
communities. It will be equipped with all the educational materials
necessary to have a fun visit, yet one designed with a lot of
impact. The plan is to create a meaningful atmosphere that will
foster discussion of stewardship possibilities for these communities.
Having followed the progress of Grupo Tortuguero for the last
8-9 years, I’m very impressed with the growth and advancement
of this national convention. Its importance and popularity has
become a much-needed direction for all Baja citizens.
Sea Ya!
Critter corner: Diseases caused by eating turtle meat (ciguatera,
mercury and PCB ingestion, etc.) have long been a problem in
Baja, but one that couldn’t be tracked very well. Many
doctors didn’t even recognize the symptoms. And if the
doctors in Baja did recognize these diseases and problems, they
were probably unable to report them because of the illegal nature
of eating turtle meat.
Copyright 2006, Roger Roth, used by permission. |
