An adult green turtle from Tortuguero had a lucky escape last week when she became entangled in a gillnet at Robinson Point, just off the coast from Belize City, Belize. Fortunately she was found by a local fisherman, Noel Eiley, who released her from the net. He noticed that she had a metal tag in her flipper. He removed the tag before he let her go and then gave it to sea turtle researcher Linda Searle. Noel and his father were turtle fishermen in this area up until 2002, when turtles received full protection in Belize. Linda has conducted in-water turtle surveys at Robinson Point for the past two years and frequently collaborated with another ex-turtle fisherman, putting his extensive knowledge of sea turtles to good use in her research and conservation efforts. With illegal sea turtle hunting occurring throughout the Caribbean, it is great to have the support of ex-turtle fishermen in turtle conservation efforts.

On the nesting beach at Tortuguero, Costa Rica, CCC researchers patrol the beach each night during the nesting season (March – October), searching for nesting adult turtles; every turtle we observe has two tags applied to her flippers. Since the 1950’s flipper tags have been used to identify individual turtles when they return to the beach in different years, as each tag has a unique number. On the reverse side of the tag is the address for the Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research (ACCSTR) at the University of Florida. Anyone who finds a tag can send it to this address, along with information about where, when and how the tag was encountered. The ACCSTR coordinates the tag return information for many different sea turtle projects around the Caribbean, contacting researchers each time one of their project tags is found.

Linda contacted the ACCSTR to tell them that she had tag number 70553 and was informed that this tag had been used at Tortuguero. She got in touch with me, and I was able to review the nesting history of turtle 70553, who had originally been tagged on July 25, 1997. The turtle was seen on two occasions that year, but surprisingly has not been encountered on the nesting beach in Tortuguero since 1997. This was the first news we had on her in almost 13 years!

The same day that Noel handed the flipper tag to Linda, she was able to report back to him with details on when and where this turtle had been originally tagged. It’s a great example of how the tag return system works; a rapid exchange of information between turtle researchers working in two different countries, one where the turtle comes to nest and the other where she returns to feed between nesting seasons. It also highlights the migratory nature of turtles, and the need for international conservation efforts to protect them.

It was a happy ending to what could have been a very sad story if the fisherman hadn’t been able to release the turtle from the gillnet in time.

Hopefully there will be many similar inspiring stories to share with you throughout the 2010 nesting season, which gets under way in Tortuguero in March.

All the best from Costa Rica,

Dr. Emma Harrison
CCC Scientific Director

If the U.S. Senate acts soon, Americans will be able to conserve imperiled marine turtles, elephants, rhinos, tigers, and great apes by purchasing semipostal stamps featuring these iconic species. Semipostals are special stamps that provide funding for particular projects by charging a premium cost of 25% above a regular first-class stamp. Purchased voluntarily, these stamps support worthwhile programs without an additional cost to taxpayers. For example, the National Institutes of Health has received $5-7 million annually for breast cancer research from the enormously popular Breast Cancer Research Semipostal, which debuted in 1998.

The U.S. Postal Service has not issued a new semipostal since 2001, but this situation could change in the near future thanks to Congressman Henry Brown of South Carolina. Last year Mr. Brown introduced H.R. 1454 to create a series of semipostal wildlife stamps supporting the Multinational Species Conservation Funds (MSCF), which support conservation for numerous species including leatherback and hawksbill turtles, Sumatran rhinos, bonobos, African elephants, and Siberian tigers.. Each year Congress appropriates funding for these programs but passage of this bill will raise critically-needed monies to combat poaching, resolve human-animal conflicts, protect habitat, and support research and conservation education.

H.R. 1454 passed the House of Representatives with 154 Democratic and Republican co-sponsors in December 2009. The bill is now scheduled for a Senate hearing in late March in a Subcommittee of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. On February 2nd a small group of conservation organization representatives and I met with Committee staff to discuss this issue. We are confident MSCF wildlife stamps will be popular with Americans and be a significant source of funding for the U.S. Postal Service as well as MSCF species because many will be purchased for collection instead of use. However, not all 10 Senators on the Subcommittee (Carper, Levin, Akaka, Pryor, McCaskill, Burris, McCain, Coburn, Voinovich and Graham) are likely to support the bill.

If you would like to help CCC and other conservation organizations promote passage of H.R. 1454 in the Senate, please call your Senator (Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121). If your Senator is on the Subcommittee, your support will be especially valuable.

Marydele Donnelly
Policy Director

In mid-December, CCC and five conservation partners* sued the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for a second time for allowing the Gulf of Mexico bottom longline fishery to capture and kill hundreds of endangered sea turtles.

Our complaint charges that the NMFS violated the basic requirements of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by failing to use the best available science, omitting key factors from consideration, and not making a rational connection between the facts and the conclusions in its new Biological Opinion issued in October 2009.

The new Biological Opinion came as a result of CCC’s first lawsuit, which argued that the NMFS failed to restrict bottom longline fishing after determining that this fishery had captured 900 more sea turtles than legally permitted. This led to an emergency closure of bottom longline fishing from mid May – mid October 2009 in waters less than 300 feet to give the NMFS an opportunity to address the claims presented in the lawsuit.

In late October, the NMFS re-opened the fishery and issued a Biological Opinion that authorizes the bottom longline fishery to capture 732 loggerheads between 2009 and 2011 and 623 turtles every three years from 2011 onward– many more than the 85 turtles allowed every three years under the previous regulation.

Despite data showing that Florida’s nesting loggerhead population is declining dramatically and that the bottom longline fishery is contributing to this decline through excessive bycatch, NMFS has failed to address these issues in their Biological Opinion.

As Florida is the only state in the Gulf of Mexico that allows bottom longline fishing in less than 300 feet of water, CCC’s goal is to protect sea turtles, fish and bottom habitat by prohibiting bottom longlining in Florida waters less than 300 feet.

We will keep our readers apprised of continuing developments on this issue.

Marydele Donnelly
International Policy Director

* Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Earthjustice, Gulf Restoration Network Inc. and Turtle Island Restoration Network.

During the first two weeks of January, severe cold weather in Florida has affected thousands of threatened and endangered sea turtles, which become "cold-stunned" when exposed to prolonged cold weather. Thanks to the heroic efforts of state and federal agency staff, conservation groups, rehabilitation facilities and volunteers around the state, most of the affected turtles have been collected from the wild and are being treated and/or released. As many as 1,000 turtles are still being cared for in facilities around Florida and, unfortunately, hundreds have died. An emergency fund has been set up to assist in the care and treatment of sea turtles still recovering from this event, many of which will require medical treatment for weeks to come before they can be released. Donations can be made to this fund at www.cccturtle.org. CCC staff and I went to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge yesterday to help, including CCC Scientific Director Dr. Emma Harrison that flew in from Costa Rica.

Check out videos of volunteers in action at the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge on CCC's YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/ccc4seaturtles.

Thanks again to everyone who helped in this effort!
David Godfrey
CCC Executive Director

Perhaps one of the most important issues facing sea turtles in Florida in 2010 is the continuing effort to remove the existing state ban on drilling in Florida’s near shore coastal waters. Leaders in Tallahassee are being courted by dozens of very high paid lobbyists representing the oil industry and are committed to bringing this up in the 2010 Legislature. Everyone who cares about sea turtles and the many habitats they rely on should be concerned. Turtles not only depend on Florida’s world class beaches for nesting, but also sea grass beds, unique coral and rock reefs, inshore lagoons, and estuaries are all important habitats utilized by different species of sea turtles during all their life stages. All these resources are at risk if Florida opens the doors to oil drilling near the coast.

For this reason, CCC is strongly opposed to offshore oil drilling. For many months I have been taking part in weekly conference calls with other environmental organizations, tourism organizations and others opposed to drilling. We share information, meet with legislators and testify at legislative committee meetings and other public forums where this issue is being debated. I have met with and had very productive conversations with a number of key legislators on this issue.

Now you can help too. On February 13th, Floridians will have a powerful, unique and fun opportunity to express their support for our natural resources and their opposition to drilling for oil next to our beaches. A grassroots effort called Hands Across the Sand will take place throughout Florida, when thousands of Floridians will join hands on their favorite beach in a solid and dramatic expression of public opposition to oil drilling. CCC encourages those that love sea turtles and Florida to learn about this event and take part. All you have to do is spend an hour or two on the beach and let your voice be heard!!

You can learn about Hands Across the Sand at www.handsacrossthesand.com. You can click on the maps and see who is organizing an event on a beach near you. We have also been working with many conservation groups to build a very informative and comprehensive website on the oil drilling issue. Go to www.protectfloridasbeaches.org to learn about oil drilling near our turtle nesting beaches, review news stories, see which local governments have passed resolutions against drilling, and to contact your elected representatives in Tallahassee. And you can learn about oil’s affects on sea turtles at the CCC website at cccturtle.org/seaturtleinformation.php?page=oilspills.

Enjoy the beach, even if it’s cold outside!
Gary Appelson
CCC Policy Coordinator

Once again it is that time of year when we are saying “See you soon” to the turtles nesting in Tortuguero, with the hope that we will see them again in the future years.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been involved in our project and with turtle conservation efforts in Tortuguero this year: Research Assistants; participants; students in the Junior Research Assistant Program; turtle spotters; guides; tourists and hotel owners.

We also want to thank the CCC staff from the San Jose office; the station managers; the boat captain Jorge; the cook Zelmira; the housekeepers Martha, Jeannette and Rebeca; the gardener Roberto and our security guards Wilfredo and Jose.

Thank you to Mawamba, Laguna and Pachira lodges for allowing us to use their swimming pools to relax from time to time.

Special thanks to the teachers from the local schools for allowing us to conduct environmental education activites with their students.

And finally, to the 81 adults and children of Tortuguero who accompanied us during night patrols.

November 2008 Tortuguero Newsletter
November 2008 Tortuguero Newsletter - Espanol

As usual, the second half of the green turtle nesting season means also having a new group of research assistants, coming from a variety of countries including Colombia, El Salvador, Panama, USA and England. Among this group was Eliseo, who also works at the CCC project in Playa Chiriquí (Panama), which is a very important nesting beach for leatherbacks and hawksbills.

During his stay in Tortuguero, Eliseo worked hard and learnt a lot about green turtles, as there are not so many in Chiriquí. This is a valuable experience for Eliseo that we hope he’ll take back with him to Panama. Good luck Eliseo!

In early September we received a group at the station who were participating in a workshop organized by the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles. The topic of the workshop was “Standardizing research methods on turtle nesting beaches”. We were also honoured by the visit of Dr. Archie Carr III and Jeff Phipps (family of some of the founders of CCC), members of the board and David Godfrey (CCC executive director).

Another piece of good news is that we reached our annual goal of a 1000 newly tagged green sea turtles on the 19th of September! To reach our target we had to carry out some extra 7-hour patrols beyond mile 5, our normal patrol limit.

October 2008 Tortuguero Newsletter
October 2008 Tortuguero Newsletter - Espanol