"Great Turtle Race" - Let the Race begin! - The turtles are off and swimming

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Spinning in circles — can Cali come back? Rowdy Gaines here on Day 3. The Race is really on. Lindblad has finally left the Gulf and is hot on the trail of the other 10 turtles! Nueva Esperanza and Wawa Bear are really making waves! Billy continues his zig-zag southward, but is closer to the US coastline than the other turtles. Will his detour help him shave some time of his trip and win the Race? Cali is spinning in circles, maybe getting his bearings before making his move south. This is sure to be a nail-biter, folks! Don’t forget to spread the word and tell everyone you know about this exciting Race. As the turtles all move out of Canada and into international waters in the Atlantic, click here to find out about what the Canadian Sea Turtle Network has learned about leatherback behavior. What is the Canadian Sea Turtle Network? The Network is a collaboration of fishermen, coastal community members and biologists working together to help unravel the mysteries of the leatherback sea turtle's life in Canadian waters. Find out more about their important work.    IT'S UP TO YOU Say no to plastic! Marine pollution has a direct impact on sea turtles. Many die when they ingest or become entangled in plastic waste. Even if you don’t live near the ocean — it’s important to keep rivers and streams clean because they carry their pollution to the oceans. You can make a difference. Pledge to decrease or eliminate all together the plastics you use in your every day life. Communities and turtles help each other To truly unleash the power of conservation, people must understand nature’s economic value. Find out how communities in Brazil combined conservation and turtle-friendly economic activities to create a strong and sustainable local economy. Learn more today.

© 2009 Conservation International  |  Conservation International's mission is to conserve the Earth's living heritage, our global biodiversity, and to demonstrate that human societies are able to live harmoniously with nature. Please visit http://www.conservation.org/ to learn more.

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blog = Let the Race Begin!          

Let the Race Begin!
Posted by Rowdy Gaines | 04.15.09 | 6 Comments
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Welcome to the Great Turtle Race, brought to you by National Geographic and Conservation International, with field partner Canadian Sea Turtle Network!

I’m Rowdy Gaines, ‘The Voice of Swimming,’ and along with Mr. Leatherback, we’ll be serving as the official Race commentators and will be calling the Race from start to finish!

A Leatherback kicks off the 2009 Race (c) CI/Photo by Rod Mast

For the next 14 days, follow 11 adult leatherback turtles on their epic journey from feeding areas off Nova Scotia, Canada across the vast Atlantic Ocean south to breeding areas throughout the Caribbean. The first turtle to cross the finish line and enters the Wider Caribbean wins! While some turtles might not cross the finish line before the end of the Race, we’re expecting them all to put on a great show!

Leatherbacks are prolific swimmers and divers, but have had some special coaching in preparation for the big Race from Olympic swimmers Amanda Beard, Janet Evans, Jason Lezak, Eric Shanteau, and Aaron Peirsol!

Along the way, the turtles will also be competing in swimming challenges to see who enters the coldest water, who dives the deepest and for the longest time, and who travels the greatest distance during the Race.

Stay tuned for daily Race updates to follow your favorite turtle’s progress, to hear from guest bloggers and to find out about cool leatherback-related information!

Let the Race begin!

RELATED: Turtlefest: An Odyssey Begins

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Get a closer look at the turtles competing in this year's race.

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Billy

Cali

Estéban 
 
Grembo Jones 
 
Lindblad the Explorer 
 
Nightswimmer 
 
NuevA Esperanza 
 
Seabiscuit 
 
Searcher 
 
Wawa Bear

Race Coaches     

Aaron Peirsol

Jason Lezak

Cullen Jones

Eric Shanteau

Janet Evans

Amanda Beard

Race Partners     

Organizing Partners

Conservation International

The National Geographic Society

Field Partner

The Canadian Sea Turtle Network

Co-Founding Partner

The Leatherback Trust

Supporting Partner

Premier Management Group

Related Links           Race Partners        The Canadian Sea Turtle Network 

The Canadian Sea Turtle Network (CSTN) is a non-profit organization involving scientists, commercial fishermen, and coastal community members that works to conserve endangered sea turtles in Canadian waters and worldwide.

IN DEPTH: Learn more about the CSTN's work to conserve leatherbacks in Nova Scotia.

The results of this unique partnership include demonstrating that Canadian waters are one of the most important feeding areas for leatherbacks in the Atlantic, as well as contributing new information about the biology of Atlantic leatherbacks such as their diving and migration patterns.

The CSTN was the first research group to describe the behavior of male leatherback turtles, and is one of the only groups to partner with commercial fishermen to try to solve the problem of sea turtle entanglement in fishing gear.

The Canadian Sea Turtle Network    A Decade of Leatherback Conservation in Nova Scotia 

The Canadian Sea Turtle Network (CSTN) is a non-profit organization involving scientists, commercial fishermen, and coastal community members that works to conserve endangered sea turtles in Canadian waters and worldwide.

CSTN’s Story

For years, the idea of leatherback turtles in Canada seemed impossible. Scientists knew, of course, that this largest of all sea turtles was sometimes found in Canadian waters, but they were generally certain that those turtles were rare – tropical turtles that had strayed from their traditional migration pattern.

Dr. Sherman Bleakney had a particular interest in leatherbacks sighted and captured by fishermen off Nova Scotia, Canada. In the 1960s, he began collecting information about these animals, and after carefully dissecting them and considering their anatomy, suggested that the turtles were likely regular visitors to Canadian waters. But the science of the day disagreed, and he moved onto other subjects.

Thirty years later, a graduate student called Mike James followed up on Sherman's work. Although there were fewer than 80 turtles ever recorded in Atlantic Canada, more and more leatherbacks were being seen by fishermen in the 1990s. Mike set out to determine how many there might be and why they showed up in Canadian waters.

Fishermen as Partners

Mike followed Sherman’s model of approaching fishermen for help. He visited every fishing wharf in Nova Scotia, talking to fishermen and putting up "Have You Seen This Turtle?" posters in hopes of learning more. During that first summer of fieldwork in 1998, he received more than 170 geo-referenced sightings of leatherbacks from his volunteer fisherman network.

This, combined with Mike’s later research in cooperation with members of the fishing community, proved not just that leatherbacks came to Canadian waters each summer and fall in great numbers to feed on the abundance of jellyfish, but also to identify Canadian waters as critical habitat for Atlantic leatherbacks.

The unique partnership between scientists and fishermen has proved invaluable in the work of the Canadian Sea Turtle Network (CSTN), and remains the backbone of its approach to conserving sea turtles in Canadian waters and internationally.

READ MORE: Gone Turtlin'. Download the SWOT Report– State of the World's Sea Turtles, Vol. IV.

Discoveries

The conservation results of the CSTN's unique partnership have been numerous, including confirming the importance of Canadian waters to Atlantic leatherbacks. Recognizing this fact, the CSTN has built on its relationship with the fishing community in Nova Scotia to become one of the only groups to partner with commercial fishermen to try to solve the problem of sea turtle entanglement in fishing gear.

The group has also contributed new information about the biology of Atlantic leatherbacks such as their diving and migration patterns. Combining satellite telemetry and cutting-edge statistical analyses, CSTN scientists have described environmental cues that determine behavioral changes between feeding and migration in adult leatherbacks.

VIDEO: Watch the movement patterns of tagged leatherbacks off Nova Scotia.

Underscoring the bias in sea turtle research toward nesting beaches, the CSTN was the first research group to describe the behavior of male leatherback turtles. Importantly, its research revealed that male leatherbacks undertake the same long-distance migrations from Canadian feeding areas to Caribbean nesting areas that female leatherbacks do, which means that all adult leatherbacks face similar challenges (e.g. fishing gear, plastic pollution) across the Atlantic Ocean in order to reproduce successfully.

Recently, the CSTN collaborated in a timely study of the magnitude of the threat posed by plastic bags and other plastic debris to leatherback turtles. Leatherbacks are thought to mistakenly eat plastic bags and other floating debris, which resemble their natural prey – jellyfish. More than a third of all leatherbacks examined in the past 40 years had ingested fragments of plastic, which might have contributed to the animals' deaths in several cases. This illustrates the scope of the problem of plastics pollution for leatherbacks and other marine animals.

ARTICLE: There’s a Future in Plastics.

Additionally, the CSTN has helped solve the mystery of the origins of leatherbacks that are seasonally present in Nova Scotia. Using satellite tracking as well as simple identification technology – flipper tags and microchips – the CSTN in collaboration with research groups studying leatherbacks on nesting beaches throughout the Caribbean and northern South America – have been able to learn where leatherbacks found in Canada during the "turtle season" come from.

So far, we know that Canadian turtles nest in Anguilla, Colombia, Costa Rica, French Guiana, Grenada, Guyana, Panama, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Trinidad, the United States and Venezuela.

Collectively, this research has shown that Canada isn't just an important feeding ground for leatherbacks, but that it is the gathering place for Atlantic turtles from far and wide. This gives the CSTN the chance to study and protect turtles from more countries than perhaps anywhere else.

In School

The CSTN works not only with commercial fishermen, but also in fishing communities. CSTN workers log thousands of miles each year traveling to schools in remote coastal communities to teach students about the importance of leatherbacks and the crucial role their communities play in conserving them.

The CSTN has developed leatherback curriculum for grade school children that stands alone as a teaching unit or is used to supplement one of our classroom visits. And, the CSTN has a particular passion for working with high-school students, spending four classes with them over the course of a month, teaching them not only the biology of leatherbacks, but also engaging them in research simulations and challenging them to think about the intrinsic worth of endangered species in the context of a commercial world.

LEARN MORE: Educational resources

In the coastal communities the CSTN visit, these are the fishers of tomorrow – the next line of defense for the leatherbacks swimming in Canadian waters.

Related Links Sea Turtle Flagship Program  Explore Brazil  Partnerships  Working with Communities  Sea Turtle Profiles  Sales Help Communities and Sea Turtles in Brazil    © Banco de Imagem-Projeto Tamar-Brasil            March 5, 2009  3/5/2009  By Guy Marcovaldi, Neca Marcovaldi and Joca Thomé      

** This article – featuring CI partner TAMAR – is taken from the newly released State of the World's Sea Turtles IV (SWOT IV) report now available for download. Get your SWOT IV Report now (PDF - 3.94 MB). **

Founded in 1980, Projeto TAMAR is a strategic alliance of Brazilian government, nonprofit and private-sector partners, as well as numerous local communities – all committed to the common purpose of promoting the wise use and protection of sea turtles in Brazil and internationally. 

When their first research and conservation field stations were established nearly three decades ago, TAMAR’s founders were faced with the challenges of finding viable economic alternatives for low-income coastal residents who, for decades, had survived by collecting turtle eggs and consuming nesting turtles. TAMAR researchers and volunteers worked directly with local citizens to accumulate detailed knowledge of community economics and to identify specific market opportunities that use turtles non-consumptively. 

WEBSITE: Check out the newly launched SeaTurtleStatus.org.

At first, TAMAR hired turtle poachers, paying them wages to protect rather than exploit the turtle population. Later, the poachers’ wives, children and other families became involved as well. The TAMAR effort now serves dozens of coastal communities in northeastern Brazil by providing employment and other public benefits to local residents. 

TAMAR’s visitor centers provide a variety of attractions for tourists such as museums, tanks and aquaria, educational exhibitions, video and multimedia auditoriums, cafeterias, and bars. A network of 13 TAMAR shops located at visitor centers and in airports and shopping malls throughout eastern Brazil are another fundamental part of TAMAR’s self-sustainability and community interaction programs. 

TAMAR shops are the exclusive sales points for a line of products including T-shirts, caps, local handicrafts, and other souvenirs. Revenue from retail sales pays for approximately one-third of TAMAR’s annual budget. The souvenirs are inspired by TAMAR’s principal objectives of sea turtle protection and research; thus, in addition to generating fiscal profits, the shops fill education and outreach roles.

The manufacturing of TAMAR souvenirs generates employment for hundreds of people and is a considerable stimulus to the local economy. The first cottage industry producing T-shirts was created in 1990 in Regência, Espírito Santo. Since then, both product quality and commercial sales have improved, thus inspiring the creation of a similar operation in Pirambu, Sergipe. TAMAR’s social production chain provides local jobs from the acquisition of raw materials through to the production and delivery of goods and services, and it ensures a regular flow of supplies and products among TAMAR’s several field stations, shops, and visitor centers. Communities close to the field stations and those in areas with limited potential for tourism are all involved. Presently, more than 1,200 jobs are maintained through TAMAR’s social production chain. 

Ecotourism and the retail sale of locally produced souvenirs help not only to fund research and conservation of sea turtles in Brazil, but also to fulfill critical environmental education and outreach objectives and to boost local economies that once depended on the nonsustainable use of sea turtles. Moreover, TAMAR’s social production chain has helped to create a heightened sense of social inclusion and pride among involved community members. This reconciliation of conservation and turtle-friendly economic activities for community members is one of TAMAR’s most notable achievements.

Guy Marcovaldi is an oceanographer, Director of Projeto TAMARICMBio, the federal government agency responsible for the Brazilian Sea Turtle Conservation Program, and member of the board of Fundação Pró TAMAR. Neca Marcovaldi is an oceanographer, President of Fundação Pró TAMAR, the nongovernment organization that co-manages
the Brazilian Sea Turtle Conservation Program, and Vice Chair of the IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group for the Western South Atlantic region. Joca Thomé is an oceanographer, Regional Coordinator of Projeto TAMAR-ICMBio, Vice Chair of the Marine Turtle Specialist Group for the Western South Atlantic region, and member of the board of Fundação Pró TAMAR.

** This is just one article featured in the State of the World's Sea Turtles, Vol. IV report. Download the full report at www.SeaTurtleStatus.org. **

Conectado como MIRIAM GODET

Leatherback          

I encountered this large Leatherback Sea Turtle on my way back to the mainland from Southeast Farallon Island, California.
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Who won the coldest water challenge?
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Campaigns, News, PartnershipsGigantothermy Lets Leatherbacks (and Dinosaurs) Go Where No Other Reptiles Dare to Go Posted by Dr. James R. Spotila | 04.20.09 | No Comments

When you think of a turtle, you probably think of those hard-shelled, slow-moving, reptilian relics whose ancestry stretches back hundreds of millions of years. What you probably don’t think of are turtles that can live in cold water and dive down to several thousand feet in the ocean.

In the Great Turtle Race, you are watching leatherbacks making half-mile deep dives and swimming in water so cold that a human in a life jacket would be dead in 15 minutes. So how do they do it?

In 1965 Sherman Bleakney found out that leatherback turtles were often seen by fishermen along the coast of New England and Canada in late summer. A few years later, Wayne Frair and colleagues measured the body temperature of a big leatherback turtle (417 kg- 920 pounds) captured in the Atlantic off Nova Scotia as being significantly warmer than the cold water that the turtle was in. These researchers figured that leatherbacks were doing something special to stay warm, but weren’t sure what it was. Read more…

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They have lived with the dinosaurs, witnessed the shifting of the continents, and as far as we know, leatherback turtles have remained almost unchanged for 100 million years. But once leatherbacks hatch and make their way to the sea, we know little about them. We have no idea how long they live. Or how quickly they grow. Or at what age they reproduce. Or how they manage to navigate the roughest of seas for months on end. They have existed for millennia, yet leatherbacks remain elusive—a mystery that scientists are racing to solve.

Leatherbacks are rated as “critically endangered” on the World Conservation Union’s “Red List of Threatened Species.” Canadian waters are vital for leatherbacks in the Atlantic. It is here that they gather, after migrating thousands of kilometers from waters off the nesting beaches, to feast on jellyfish, their main prey. We have a responsibility to monitor these turtles, to protect them, and to learn as much as we can from them. If we don’t, Atlantic leatherbacks, like their counterparts in the Pacific Ocean, could be quickly headed for extinction.

The Canadian Sea Turtle Network is a unique, grassroots, science-based group: We work with fishermen to help prevent leatherbacks from entanglement in commercial fishing gear. Entanglement is one of the greatest threats to the survival of leatherbacks worldwide. Our partnership with the fishing community also results in groundbreaking scientific research on leatherbacks—research that has unravelled parts of the leatherback mystery. Your money will help us do even more.

TEAM: Meet them. SHOW ME MORE: Learn about the CSTN and their work.

They have lived with the dinosaurs, witnessed the shifting of the continents, and as far as we know, leatherback turtles have remained almost unchanged for 100 million years. But once leatherbacks hatch and make their way to the sea, we know little about them. We have no idea how long they live. Or how quickly they grow. Or at what age they reproduce. Or how they manage to navigate the roughest of seas for months on end. They have existed for millennia, yet leatherbacks remain elusive—a mystery that scientists are racing to solve.

Leatherbacks are rated as “critically endangered” on the World Conservation Union’s “Red List of Threatened Species.” Canadian waters are vital for leatherbacks in the Atlantic. It is here that they gather, after migrating thousands of kilometers from waters off the nesting beaches, to feast on jellyfish, their main prey. We have a responsibility to monitor these turtles, to protect them, and to learn as much as we can from them. If we don’t, Atlantic leatherbacks, like their counterparts in the Pacific Ocean, could be quickly headed for extinction.

The Canadian Sea Turtle Network is a unique, grassroots, science-based group: We work with fishermen to help prevent leatherbacks from entanglement in commercial fishing gear. Entanglement is one of the greatest threats to the survival of leatherbacks worldwide. Our partnership with the fishing community also results in groundbreaking scientific research on leatherbacks—research that has unravelled parts of the leatherback mystery. Your money will help us do even more.

TEAM: Meet them. SHOW ME MORE: Learn about the CSTN and their work.

Conectado como MIRIAM GODET

ABOUT US CONTACT US          

The Canadian Sea Turtle Network is a non-profit organization involving scientists, commercial fishermen, and coastal community members that works to conserve endangered sea turtles in Canadian waters and worldwide. The group won the Gold Canadian Environment Award for Conservation in 2007.

Dr. Mike James, Director of Science
Mike’s interest in turtles stretches back to his childhood, when he used to love to watch his pet box turtles. He earned his doctorate in biology from Dalhousie University, where he is an adjunct professor. He also holds degrees in psychology (Hon. B.Sc., University of Toronto) and education (B.Ed., Queen’s University).

Kathleen Martin, Executive Director
Kathleen is adjunct professor in Dalhousie University’s School for Resource and Environmental Studies. She is interested in sea turtles and how communication affects conservation. She holds degrees in English literature from the University of Toronto (Hon. B.A.) and Queen’s University (M.A.). She has also published seven nature books for children.

Laura Bennett, Coordinator of Community Outreach and Conservation
Laura is passionate both about environmental education and the important role of the fishing community in conservation. In addition to logging thousands of kilometers a year travelling to coastal communities to work with fishermen and students, Laura holds Master of Environmental Studies and marine biology degrees from Dalhousie University.


1 www.freetheleatherback.com/learn.html

2 www.freetheleatherback.com/fishermen.html

3 www.freetheleatherback.com/message.html

4 www.freetheleatherback.com/track.html

5 www.freetheleatherback.com/donateoff.html

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Who won the coldest water challenge? Hello Race fans! I’m Race commentator Rowdy Gaines, with my partner, the famous world-traveling turtle, Mr. Leatherback. With a little more than a week to go, the Race is getting good. Nueva Esperanza and Wawa Bear are turtleneck-and-neck and look like they’re both headed for South America! Meanwhile, Billy is on a straight course toward Puerto Rico and making great time, as is Seabiscuit. He has really made up water on the leaders, with a straight-line cruise toward the Caribbean. He looks like he is on a mission! Find out where the rest of our turtles are by checking out our interactive map. And at last, we have the results of the first swimming challenge; click here to find out which turtle spent the most time in cold water. Then, find out what turtle expert Jim Spotila says about the results. We’ll announce the winner of the next challenge — the longest dive — on Friday, April 24. Esteban A native of the Latin American Caribbean, Esteban is a popular turtle whose amigos were swimming around the boat when he received his tag. What — or who — is Esteban’s secret weapon in the race? Find out here.    IT'S UP TO YOU Stop the clock on species extinction. In recent decades, many populations of the world’s largest marine turtle — the Leatherback — have declined substantially. Check out Conservation International’s gallery of other species that are threatened with extinction and then add your voice to our petition to government leaders urging them to protect these species and their habitats for the good of our planet and people everywhere. What is SWOT? State of the World’s Sea Turtles is a powerful network of specialists working to conserve sea turtles and their habitats. Hatched in 2003 by Conservation International, the IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group, the International Sea Turtle Society, and Duke University, this global network is the first and only of its kind. Find out more.

© 2009 Conservation International  |  Conservation International's mission is to conserve the Earth's living heritage, our global biodiversity, and to demonstrate that human societies are able to live harmoniously with nature. Please visit http://www.conservation.org/ to learn more.

2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 500
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The Great Turtle Race is underway! Last Thursday, Conservation International and National Geographic’s “Great Turtle Race” hit the open ocean. This year, eleven leatherback sea turtles are racing from Canada’s Atlantic coast to the beaches of the Caribbean. It’s not too late to sign-up for daily race updates — full of fun turtle facts and play-by-play race highlights straight from the waves. Our work protecting sea turtles in Brazil The Great Turtle Race is much more than just a race — it’s about protecting sea turtles and the oceans they call home. Unfortunately, sea turtles are highly threatened, and their numbers are rapidly diminishing. In Brazil, we are unleashing the power of conservation by helping people understand nature’s economic value. Today, CI’s partner Projeto TAMAR works hand-in-hand with local communities to protect sea turtles nesting on Brazil’s beaches. Learn more about how we are creating a strong and sustainable local economy by combining conservation and turtle-friendly economic activities. Dozens of endangered species and the last remnants of untouched tropical forest in Southeast Asia are at risk of disappearing in the Cardamom Mountains of Cambodia. In response, CI introduced the Conservation Stewards Program (CSP) to six communities which earned income by selling threatened animal species to the Chinese medicinal market and farmed by burning and clearing forests. In return for commitments to conserve endangered animals and forests, CI provides buffaloes to help restore old rice fields, and training, equipment and pay for forest patrollers. To date, 150,000 hectares of forest have been protected, including the nests of the Siamese Crocodile — the most endangered crocodile in the world. Beyond Brazil, CI is working on the ground with people to both protect nature and improve community life in countries including Madagascar, China, South Africa and beyond. New and Noteworthy This Earth Day, we celebrate the beauty, magic, and wonder of the planet we call home. We also keep in mind the essential services nature provides — fresh air, clean water, healthy soil — which each one of us relies on for our survival. Feel the spectacular force of our planet by watching a preview of Disneynature’s EARTH, a breathtaking film that uses stunning images and storytelling to inspire us all to come together to protect our home. Also, visit CI’s Earth Day site for four moving features that honor the dramatic beauty of our planet and the need to conserve it. Check out an awe-inspiring photo essay that celebrates the people and places of Madagascar, and read about indigenous peoples from diverse and distinct cultures who are helping combat climate change using their vast and enduring relationship with nature. Header Photos: Tiger: © CI/Photo by Frank Hawkins, Forest: © Frans Lanting, Girl: © CI/Photo by Haroldo Castro

© 2009 Conservation International  |  Conservation International's mission is to conserve the Earth's living heritage, our global biodiversity, and to demonstrate that human societies are able to live harmoniously with nature. Please visit http://www.conservation.org/ to learn more.

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GREENPEACE International

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Happy Earth Day! 

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We are celebrating Earth Day with the release of a new video - 'Inspiring Action' - which we would like to share with you as part of our thanks for your continuing support of Greenpeace. When you've finished watching the video we are also hoping that you'll be inspired and help us to share its message of action on behalf of our environment by taking some online action yourself ... and helping us recruit 3 million people to become climate activists. Yes, you read it correctly. 3 million. It's a big number because the Earth needs big action this year. Here's what you can do: First: Enjoy the video. Click on the YouTube logo at the end to rate it and leave a comment! Second: Share it with your friends and family Third: Take action for the climate this Earth Day by signing our online petition: ask our world leaders to take personal responsibility for the future of the climate and attend the UN Climate summit at the end of the year. But not just attend, they need to ensure a good deal for the climate. Here's to a future that's green and peaceful. Together we can make it happen. 

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ABOUT US CONTACT US          

The Canadian Sea Turtle Network is a non-profit organization involving scientists, commercial fishermen, and coastal community members that works to conserve endangered sea turtles in Canadian waters and worldwide. The group won the Gold Canadian Environment Award for Conservation in 2007.

Dr. Mike James, Director of Science
Mike’s interest in turtles stretches back to his childhood, when he used to love to watch his pet box turtles. He earned his doctorate in biology from Dalhousie University, where he is an adjunct professor. He also holds degrees in psychology (Hon. B.Sc., University of Toronto) and education (B.Ed., Queen’s University).

Kathleen Martin, Executive Director
Kathleen is adjunct professor in Dalhousie University’s School for Resource and Environmental Studies. She is interested in sea turtles and how communication affects conservation. She holds degrees in English literature from the University of Toronto (Hon. B.A.) and Queen’s University (M.A.). She has also published seven nature books for children.

Laura Bennett, Coordinator of Community Outreach and Conservation
Laura is passionate both about environmental education and the important role of the fishing community in conservation. In addition to logging thousands of kilometers a year travelling to coastal communities to work with fishermen and students, Laura holds Master of Environmental Studies and marine biology degrees from Dalhousie University.


1 www.freetheleatherback.com/learn.html

2 www.freetheleatherback.com/fishermen.html

3 www.freetheleatherback.com/message.html

4 www.freetheleatherback.com/track.html

5 www.freetheleatherback.com/donateoff.html

Conectado como MIRIAM GODET

Ocean Conservation is not just for adults. It’s important to teach our children at an early age how a simple plastic bottle can enter waterways, and harm sea turtles, birds, and other animals.          

WE GO, TOGETHER, TO SAVE THE LAND!

Billy nears the finish line!

Ocean Conservation is not just for adults. It’s important to teach our children at an early age how a simple plastic bottle can enter waterways, and harm sea turtles, birds, and other animals.

National Geographic Kids started the “No More Plastic! Pledge” to urge children everywhere to stop using plastic and keep animals safe.

IT'S UP TO YOU

While Billy seems to be in control of the race, the “Audience Favorite” award is still up for grabs.

kids.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NGS/Shared/Static...

Show your support for your favorite turtle by taking the Pearl Jam Audience Favorite Challenge. After making a gift to support our conservation efforts, you get to vote for your top turtle.

We’ll announce the audience favorite at the end of the race — and remember, your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar!

secure2.convio.net/cintl/site/Donation2?df_id=3800&38...

THE GREAT TURTLE RACE 2009

Take the Pearl Jam Audience Favorite Challenge and your gift will be matched.

Welcome to Greenpeace International

Greenpeace exists because this fragile Earth deserves a voice. It needs solutions. It needs change. It needs action.
www.greenpeace.org/international/

IT'S UP TO YOU

Around the world, millions are celebrating Earth Day. In fact, it's one of the only events celebrated simultaneously around the globe by people of all backgrounds, faiths, and nationalities.

Do your part to keep the environment safe and clean! Leatherbacks and other sea creatures are threatened by pollution - such as plastic debris - in the oceans.

Head to your local beach with friends and family and clean up any trash that could threaten marine life!

Today we have a special guest blogger!

Marine ecologist and environmental writer Dr. Carl Safina shares his insight and experience about sea turtles and the oceans, which have resulted in three books, most recently The Voyage of the Turtle. Dr. Safina has traveled the world in pursuit of the leatherback, from tropical New Guinea beaches to the chilly waters off Newfoundland.

Find out all about his work by visiting our blog.

Conectado como MIRIAM GODET    22 OF APRIL, DAY OF THE LAND! CLIMATE, COMMUNITY AND BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION           www.conservation.org/learn/climate/Pages/overview.aspx Climate, Community And Biodiversity Conservation Protecting Oceans           22 of april, day of the land!

22 OF APRIL, DAY OF THE LAND!          

Protecting Oceans

Race Partners        The Leatherback Trust 

The Leatherback Trust (TLT) is a non-profit foundation established to save the leatherback turtle and other sea turtles from extinction.

Instrumental in the founding of Parque Marino Las Baulas, on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, TLT scientists have trained park rangers and guides, worked with local school children and advised the local community on living in harmony with the leatherbacks. The park protects the most important leatherback nesting beaches in the Pacific Ocean.

With the park’s establishment, almost all nests are protected and thousands of hatchlings crawl to the ocean every season where five years ago only a few survived.

READ MORE: Now or Never: Eastern Pacific Leatherbacks Face Extinction

Cheer on Your Turtle!    Pick your turtle and sign up to follow the race Get race details delivered directly to your inbox by clicking or using the form to the left.   TAKE THE PEARL JAM CHALLENGE Pearl Jam is challenging you to support sea turtle conservation by donating in the name of your favorite turtle. Make a donation today and tell us which turtle you are backing.  The challenge results will be posted after the race. Help your turtle win!   Follow the Race Follow each of our turtles with daily updates from the ocean and guest commentaries from their friends.   Meet All the Participants Get to know the intrepid racers and their sponsors and coaches, as well as the organizations that make the race possible.   The Great Turtle Race over the Years Learn how the Great Race came to be and review some highlights of spokesturtle Mr. Leatherback's coverage of the race, including photos, videos and tips to save sea turtles.

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The Leatherback: Earth’s Last Dinosaur          

The Leatherback: Earth’s Last Dinosaur
Posted by Dr. Carl Safina | 04.22.09 | No Comments

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I was 14 and in awe of the seafaring skills of my uncles Sal and Tony, but actually we’d ventured only a few miles into the Atlantic; you didn’t have to go far to catch Bluefin Tuna in the 1960s. I was wound with anticipation of a heavy fishing rod suddenly bending under the frightening power of a great fish. I was gazing with a child’s eyes into the infinity beneath us when suddenly a strange sea beast appeared at the surface about fifty yards off our stern. It was a creature so large the sea broke into whitecaps across its back. I was thinking it looked like a Volkswagen floating just under the surface, when it raised its unbelievably huge head, drank a deep breath of air, and withdrew. Thus ended my first awestruck encounter with the greatest turtle on Earth.

PARTNERSHIP: The Great Turtle Race at National Geographic Read more…

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Leatherback_Turtle          

Cheer on Your Turtle!

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Peter Pritchard: The “Godfather” of Turtles     © Cristina Mittermeier            April 8, 2009  4/8/2009  By Steve Goldstein     

Peter Pritchard has a ready answer to why people like turtles and tortoises. “A tortoise is an animal you can pick up and plunk down,” he says. “It doesn’t run away at speed. It gives you plenty of time to contemplate it.

“And, if like me, you like to travel,” Pritchard continues, “then you will find turtles in a lot of different places.”

Pritchard, 65, has traveled the world in service of these incredibly varied encarapaced reptiles, many of which are threatened today. Among the most eminent turtle zoologists on the planet, Pritchard is well-known for his more than four decades advocating for the study and conservation of turtles.

Toward that end, the transplanted Englishman – educated at Oxford University and University of Florida – runs the privately funded Chelonian Research Institute for the study and preservation of turtles in Oviedo, FL.

IN-DEPTH:  Discover the critically endangered and threatened turtle species around the world.

In 2000, Time magazine named Pritchard one of its “Heroes for the Planet.” His son asked, “Which planet?”

Pritchard’s wife, Sibille, a native Guyanese who serves on numerous public service committees and is President of the Orlando Ballet, keeps him modest by describing her husband as half Indiana Jones, half Monty Python character.

Pritchard, who has amassed over 13,000 tortoise and turtle skeletons, may be best known for his fieldwork in Guyana and the Galapagos. Guyana beaches are nesting grounds for four of the world’s seven known sea turtle species: leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), green (Chelonia mydas), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricate) and olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea).

Guyana’s sea turtles were being overhunted by local Arawak Indians until Pritchard developed plans to save the turtles by recruiting the hunters themselves to become the turtle protectors.

Life on the Hard Shell

Pritchard has mentored many turtle scientists and conservationists, including Rod Mast of Conservation International (CI). “Peter is literally the godfather of turtles,” says Mast. “He provides a long term perspective for the conservation community.”

Mast was in Australia with Pritchard earlier this year. “He just towers above people,” Mast says, referring to Pritchard’s scholarship and storytelling as much as his 6-foot-4 frame. “He’s a leatherback among men.”

LEARN MORE: Find out about CI's Sea Turtle Flagship Program.

Growing up in what he refers to as “the tortoise-free environment of Great Britain,” Pritchard did not encounter his first turtle until a trip to the London Zoo at age seven. The giant tortoises there made a lasting impression. As a teenager, he thumbed Archie Carr’s “Handbook of Turtles” until it fell to pieces.

Pritchard saw his first turtle in the wild when, as a college student (a chemistry major, no less), he visited Atlanta, Georgia and saw one paddling in a lake near Emory University.

The following year, Pritchard joined an Oxford expedition to northern Iran to study soil and tortoises. “I wasn’t a soil scientist, but I did assigned duties,” he says. “I was intrigued by the turtles I found there.” Pritchard returned to England with six large tortoises and some freshwater turtles. The year was 1963, and the customs officials barely batted an eye at the odd import.

The expedition is so rooted in Pritchard’s mind that when he sat down to write his autobiography, Tales from the Thebaide, 43 years later, “I was able to recall everything that happened, day to day.” The rest, of course, is hard-shelled history.

Why Save Turtles?

Turtles matter, Pritchard says, because of their diverse adaptations to many ecosystems. “Some are six feet long and weigh 1,500 pounds, while others are barely three-and-a-half inches and three ounces,” he says. The extraordinary thing is they’ve evolved to a spectrum of different forms – yet all are faithful to their body plan.”

“Why save turtles?” people ask. Pritchard replies: “I don’t think an animal should be required to justify itself in terms of human benefits.”

In addition to current fieldwork researching giant tortoises in the Galapagos, Pritchard is also studying an almost extinct species, the Yangtze giant soft-shell (Rafetus swinhoei), a freshwater turtle species that is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List.

Pritchard shows no signs of slowing down, either in traveling, collecting, writing, or spreading his philosophy. A love of turtles has brought him conversation time with Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and even former President Richard Nixon. He also talks turtle with poachers, children, social outcasts, and even developers. “It quickly becomes just two people talking about turtles,” he says.

“I call it ‘travel with a theme’,” says Pritchard of his journeys to help save the world’s turtles. An additional benefit of turtle fieldwork, he says, is the warm welcome from villagers in remote places, who offer the chance to share their way of life, their culture, and even their dinner.

READ MORE: Communities and Sea Turtles

Freshwater Turtles    Caught in the Trade 

The world’s kitchens serve up turtles every which way. In China, the specialty is turtle soup. With a seemingly insatiable appetite for these reptiles, diners in Asia are practically eating freshwater turtles to extinction.


Appetite For Turtles Feeds Collection Industry

Hunger for turtle meat is feeding the commercial hunting of turtles from Vietnam to Bangladesh to Indonesia – even from parts of North America. Shipments of thousands of live, adult turtles arrive daily in major Chinese markets.

Because turtles tend to mature late in life and reproduce slowly, species survival is highly dependent on longevity. But longevity is threatened, as younger turtles are being captured before they can reproduce. If Asian traders continue to do business at such a brisk pace, many freshwater turtle species – whose origins pre-date the rise of dinosaurs in the late Triassic period, more than 200 million years ago – may perish.

SPECIES: Learn more about the reptiles and amphibians recorded in Cambodia.

The burgeoning trade has severely depleted turtle populations on a global scale. Three-quarters of Asia’s 90 species of tortoise and freshwater turtle are now considered threatened. Worldwide, the danger is more imminent. Scientists from Conservation International (CI), the World Conservation Union (IUCN), and other partner organizations have assessed the status of 200 out of about 300 known species. Their estimates indicate that at least 40 percent of all tortoise and freshwater turtle species are at immediate risk of extinction.

ACT: Stop the Clock on Species Extinction.

“This is almost certainly an underestimate,” says Peter Paul van Dijk, director of CI’s Center for Applied Biodiversity Science (CABS) Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Conservation Program. “Many species not yet evaluated will also prove to be threatened, and some that appear secure right now could join the ranks of threatened species.”

The threats to tortoises and freshwater turtles are further magnified by changes to their habitat resulting from human activities. From logging to slash-and-burn agriculture to pollution, plus the damming and channeling of rivers, the landscapes turtles call home are being damaged. These threats also decrease the life expectancy of turtles.

A Role for Everyone

Protecting freshwater turtles is an effort that requires cooperation across the board, from the highest levels of government to individuals around the world.

Although turtle protection laws exist, they are sometimes weak, under-regulated, or more significantly, not well enforced. As members of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), many countries have agreed to safeguard wild species from international trade. In collaboration with governments and local partners, CI is pushing for stronger enforcement of CITES rules in China and other Asian countries, the prime stomping grounds for turtle consumption and exploitation, as well as inclusion of additional turtle species under CITES protection.

Efforts to educate consumers have also proven successful in increasing participation in turtle conservation and in promoting safer dining choices.

In key Chinese cities, CI will distribute a green dining guide that highlights the potentially severe health hazards of eating wildlife. As part of a broad conservation awareness campaign leading up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the guide will provide information about the dangers of consuming wild species, including turtles, that may carry disease.

To develop local capacity for combating trade, CI has mentored a team of young Cambodian students that, in 2004, began conducting searches and surveys to assess the status of tortoise and turtle species in the Central Cardamom Protected Forest. The team is now widely recognized as expert in turtle conservation.

ARTICLE: Meet Sitha Som, a guide to aspiring biologists in Cambodia.

Additionally, nearly 30 independent projects designed to protect highly threatened turtles being carried out by local conservationists and academics have received support from the Turtle Conservation Fund, co-created and administered by CI since 2002.

“While there’s still a lot of work to be done to safeguard critical turtle habitats and reduce trade in wild turtles to levels that no longer damage the survival of their populations, it is not an impossible goal,” says van Dijk. “We have made real progress in recent years and will continue to make every effort so that no tortoise or freshwater turtle goes extinct.”

      >> Discover more species impacted by illegal wildlife trade.

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species_turtles          

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Freshwater Turtles
The world’s kitchens serve up turtles every which way. In China, the specialty is turtle soup. With a seemingly insatiable appetite for these reptiles, diners in Asia are practically eating freshwater turtles to extinction.

Sea Turtles
Five of the seven species of sea turtle are designated as Endangered or Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

"Great Turtle Race" - Let the Race begin! - The turtles are off and swimming
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Great Leatherback turtle race from the Atlantic to the Caribbean
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"Great Turtle Race" - Let the Race begin! - The turtles are off and swimming
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www.eco-dhamra.com/mass-turtles-nesting.html Mass Nesting of Olive Ridley Turtles at Gahirmatha in 2009 www.eco-dhamra.com/mass-turtles-nesting.html Mass Nesting of Olive Ridley Turtles at Gahirmatha in 2009 www.eco-dhamra.com/mass-turtles-nesting.html Mass Nesting of Olive Ridley Turtles at Gahirmatha in 2009

olive >>> Mass Nesting of Olive Ridley Turtles at Gahirmatha in 2009          

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Mass Nesting of Olive Ridley Turtles at Gahirmatha in 2009

Gahirmatha Nesting TurtlesOlive Ridley Turtles, the smallest of the marine turtle species in the world are vulnerable and disappearing fast from the face of the earth. However, unlike last year, when the turtles were conspicuously absent, year 2009 saw thousands of Olive Ridley Turtles making their annual journey to the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary in Orissa as females sought the warm eastern sands as their place of choice for laying eggs.

As confirmed by Mr. Siddhanta Das, Conservator of Forests, Bhubaneswar circle, in a recent news articles in Times of India “the mass nesting at Gahirmatha started on March 21 and continued till March 24. In these four days, around 1.7 lakh turtles had nested at the site”.

Dredging activities in the nearby port, away from the nesting area has not affected the migration of these rare species in any ways.

It has been reported by forest officials, that the turtles scanned the serene Gahirmatha beach for quite a while before settling down to lay eggs here. Forest officials deployed in the area have ensured that the female species, which lay about 120 to 150 eggs each, are left undisturbed. The beach is protected and kept under strong vigil till the eggs hatch after 45 to 50 days and the small turtles commence on their seaward journey.

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Marine Turtle conservation being ramped up as populations decline 02          

Marine Turtle conservation being ramped up as populations decline

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