Two OAI team members attended the 2019 International Sea Turtle Symposium in Charleston, SC from February 2-8, 2019. The Symposium was attended by over 800 participants, and special attention was dedicated to discussions on the importance of making connections between scientists and decision makers, so that international and domestic laws and regulations are informed by the best science available to make sea turtle conservation truly effective for the recovery of their populations.

Verónica Cáceres has been an OAI employee for nearly 10 years. As a former Fulbright Scholar, she provides the Secretariat for Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles (IAC) under contract from the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. Funding is from the USA and several Latin American countries. She participated in the workshop focused on conservation efforts of one of the critically endangered sea turtle populations – the East Pacific Leatherback. At this workshop, participants from over 10 countries in the Western Hemisphere presented valuable information on 2018-19 nesting trends in the index beaches of the species (Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica) as well as preliminary results from bycatch surveys with fishermen that was helpful to identify important areas to focus conservation efforts.

The Symposium also featured talks on socioeconomics and working with coastal communities to better achieve conservation objectives that are meaningful and sustainable in the long term. It was packed with valuable workshops, research discussions and networking activities.

OAI consultant Captain Michele Finn, NOAA (ret), also participated in the Symposium. Captain Finn supported NOAA Fisheries protected species programs throughout her 25 years as a NOAA Corps officer and continues that work with a volunteer sea turtle conservation program – Share The Beach – in Alabama. In addition to catching up with long time colleagues from around the world, Captain Finn focused her attention on learning more about sea turtle nesting biology and navigation/migration/homing behavior, as well as threat mitigation measures and the application of unmanned technology in conservation strategies.