IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group

The NOAA-NMFS Pacific Islands Research Office has just released an exhaustive review of green turtle (Chelonia mydas) nesting sites and legislation throughout Oceania.  MTSG member Irene Kinan-Kelly is among the authors of this valuable 52-page publication, titled Green Turtle Nesting Sites and Sea Turtle Legislation throughout Oceania (PDF).  The publication provides a “synthesis of 189 Pacific green turtle nesting locations, nesting assemblage characteristics where available, and current national legislation,” complete with a number of useful maps. Continue reading →

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation has just announced the availability of new funding through their Recovered Oil Fund for Wildlife to “support projects that help bolster populations of fish and wildlife species impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.”  This includes all projects that have a demonstrable benefit to sea turtle populations that may have been affected by the spill.  The money for this fund comes from the sale of oil that was recovered from the Gulf of Mexico during/after the spill. Continue reading →

Conservation photographer Paul Hilton has posted a series of shocking images on his website that document the rampant illegal trade of sea turtles in Hainan, China. As we have noted several times in the past (see our reports in Marine Turtle Newsletter 127 and 125), this is an issue of major concern for sea turtle populations throughout Southeast Asia, particularly those in the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, from which the animals for this Continue reading →

This is a notice to all interested researchers and conservationists that applications for funding through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Marine Turtle Conservation Fund are being accepted until October 1, 2010. Part of the USFWS Wildlife Without Borders program, the Marine Turtle Conservation Fund is the U.S. government’s only international grants program for marine turtles, and is an excellent opportunity for funding of marine turtle research and conservation projects in all countries. For more information and instructions on how to apply, visit their website.

Dr. Brian Stacy handles an oiled Kemp's ridley turtle in the Gulf of Mexico. (NOAA Photo)

MTSG member and veterinarian with the U. S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Dr. Brian Stacy is featured in a New York Times article today covering the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and its impacts to marine turtles and other wildlife.  Dr. Stacy is among those who have been conducting autopsies on stranded turtles found since the Deepwater Horizon oil leak began in April. The article does a great job of summarizing the situation for sea turtles in the Gulf as well as highlighting the various forensic techniques that are used by scientists to understand causes of animal mortality. Read the full story over at the New York Times website. Continue reading →