SEA TURTLE CONSERVANCY

For 50 years, the Caribbean Conservation Corporation has conducted annual sea turtle nest monitoring studies on the 21 mile black sand beach of Tortuguero, Costa Rica, the nesting site of more endangered green turtles than anywhere else in the Western Hemisphere. Since being initiated by Dr. Archie Carr in the 1950s, this monitoring program has provided much information on the reproductive ecology and migratory habits of sea turtles. A recent peer-reviewed analysis showed an encouraging trend in green turtle nesting activity. Through this five-decade-long conservation initiative, CCC has reversed the decline of green turtles in the Caribbean. <p><img src="http://www.cccturtle.org/images/measure-green-NeilOsbourne.jpg" alt="" align="left" hspace="10" />The overall goal of CCC's sea turtle research and conservation work in Tortuguero is to conserve the area's nesting green and leatherback turtle populations so that these species fulfill their ecological roles. The strategies used to achieve this goal include the following: (1) monitoring and studying Tortuguero's nesting turtles; (2) working with the Costa Rican government, the community of Tortuguero and others to protect nesting turtles from poachers; (3) training young scientists, conservationists, and others to help ensure the continuation of sea turtle protection efforts in Tortuguero and elsewhere; and (4) educating the public about sea turtles and the threats to their survival. </p> <p>Research methods include turtle tagging, turtle track surveys, collection of biometric data, fibropapilloma examination, determination of nest survivorship and hatching success, collection of physical data, and collection of data on human impacts to the nesting beach and the turtles. Protection methods include a cooperative effort with Tortuguero National Park officials and law enforcement to reduce poaching of eggs and turtles. Training methods include training research assistants, recruited heavily from Latin American countries, and training Tortuguero National Park guards as well as local eco-tour guides in sea turtle biology and conservation. Public outreach methods include teaching Tortuguero school children, local adults and tourists about sea turtles and working with the international media to raise awareness about sea turtles and threats to their survival. </p> <p><img src="http://www.cccturtle.org/images/nest-inventory-NeilOsbourne.jpg" alt="" align="right" hspace="10" />Continued survival of the sea turtle populations at Tortuguero will require many years of protection, but CCC believes it is a feasible goal, and one that can be accomplished while providing an opportunity for research, training of professionals from Latin America and the Caribbean, and local education, as well as economic development for the Tortuguero community through sea turtle tourism. </p>

<p>Caribbean Conservation Corporation's most recent project is working to protect and restore the once globally-significant hawksbill sea turtle nesting population at Chiriqu&#237; Beach, Panama. The program consists of intensive monitoring of hawksbill and leatherback sea turtle nesting activity, protection of nesting females and their nests, and public education in the region and will build upon an ongoing research project carried out since 1989 by Drs. Anne and Peter Meylan. </p> <p><img src="http://www.cccturtle.org/images/chiriqui-beach-panama.jpg" alt="" align="right" />Chiriqu&#237; Beach was once described by Dr. Archie Carr as the most important nesting beach in the Caribbean for the &#8220;critically endangered&#8221; hawksbill turtle (<em>Eretmochelys imbricata</em>). However, by the 1980s and 1990s, sporadic aerial and ground surveys suggested that nesting had declined as much as 98%. Although today&#8217;s nesting population is only a fraction of what it once was, there is increased optimism that depleted hawksbill populations can respond positively to long-term protection. This optimism is based on increased hawksbill nesting activity in recent years on well-protected beaches in Mexico, Barbados and Puerto Rico. In Panama, increased hawksbill nesting has been observed at Zapatilla Cays in the last few years, very likely due to the enhanced protection that hawksbills have received since the cays became a part of a new national marine park in 1988. Results from CCC&#8217;s sustained protection programs at other sea turtle nesting beaches give us confidence that depleted sea turtle populations can be restored through long-term, coordinated protection of nesting beaches and foraging grounds. </p> <p>Chiriqu&#237; Beach also remains one of the most important sites for leatherback (<em>Dermochelys coriacea</em>) nesting in the Atlantic, with as many as 7,170 to 14,005 leatherback nests deposited yearly between the Nicaragua/Costa Rica border and Central Panama. </p> <p>The project involves local students and indigenous Ng&#246;be leaders in order to build a connection between the community and the project. </p> <p><img src="http://www.cccturtle.org/images/chiriqui-beach-monitors.jpg" alt="" align="left" hspace="5" />This program helps protect and recover the hawksbill and leatherback populations of Chiriqu&#237; Beach and adjacent nesting sites. <br /> </p>

<link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5Crjohnson%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" /> <p >Caribbean Conservation Corporation&#8217;s Tour de Turtles: a sea turtle migration marathon — is an online sea turtle migration-tracking event that utilizes the satellite-tracked migration of sea turtles as the core component of an education program.&nbsp;Since its launch in 1996, the migration-tracking program has reached millions of people who have logged on to CCC&#8217;s website each year to track the movements of sea turtles. An estimated 16,000 teachers in the U.S. and around the world have used the program as part of their classroom curriculum — reaching more than a half million students!</p> <p >&nbsp;</p> <p >Tour de Turtles is a three-month-long event beginning each August that tracks individual sea turtles leaving their respective nesting beaches as they &#8220;race&#8221; to complete the equivalent of a marathon. Rather than the typical human marathon of 26.2 miles, the Tour de Turtle participants will swim to complete a 26.2 hundred kilometer (1,628 miles) migration from their nesting beaches to unknown foraging grounds. </p> <p >&nbsp;</p> <p >Tour de Turtles is a multimedia experience using interactive online maps, videos, games and educational activities centered on the biology and conservation of sea turtles and their habitats. It is designed to provide the broadest possible audience with a fun and educational approach to science, geography and marine conservation — all utilizing the satellite-tracked migration of sea turtles.&nbsp;This program will let people identify with and track individual turtles. To get people even more involved, individuals will be able to support each turtle&#8217;s cause during the Causes Challenge. The Causes Challenge is a side competition that challenges each turtle to raise the most money for the issue they are representing. To make the program useful to teachers and students, a full compliment of online material will be available for use in the classroom and at home.&nbsp;These materials include an Educator&#8217;s Manual, interactive online games and quizzes, and classroom activities that incorporate standard classroom curriculum such as math, geography and science into the program.&nbsp;</p>