WORDS FROM BROCK
one
of the founding principles of kurmalliance is direct action. recently,
i was lucky enough to have the opportunity to dive directly into action
aboard a scientific mission to research critically endangered sea
turtle and shark populations at the remote sea mount of cocos island,
333 miles off the western shores of costa rica.
a small but intrepid band of marine biologists, underwater documentarians, scuba divers and ocean conservationists (+ 1 yogactivist!) was organized and directed by two leaders in the field of Cocos conservation, Randall Arauz of Pretoma, and Todd Steiner of Sea Turtle Restoration Project. we set sail over the distant horizon in hopes of deploying an array of satellite and acoustic tags on the sharks and turtles of cocos in order to collect important data regarding migratory patterns, mating and social behaviors, and threats due to increased fishing pressure.
our aim was to discover more about the threatened wild creatures of the open ocean in hopes of saving them: what i discovered about myself, my purpose, and my place in the world, when looking at my own reflection in the eyes of a turtle, may have saved my own soul instead. these reflections have stoked an even bigger fire under my ass to continue rocketing the kurmalliance trajectory toward saving the seas, and the sea turtles. we could use your help! i am motivated to help you discover your own art of devocean. perhaps it will be through yoga, perhaps it will be through activism, perhaps through a delicious combination of each… regardless of the road you choose, each of these paths lead toward the center of your soul. i hope to meet you there. once soul centered, you will recognize that we cannot let the soul of our planet (our ocean) die. this is our tipping point, and it is urgent. the ocean, amongst other vital things, produces over 70% of the oxygen for the planet. without a healthy ocean, we perish. choose to live, choose to save. join the turtletribe, and hop on board for one of our upcoming events!
Turtletribe Partners
None
of the work at kurmalliance would be possible without the guidance of some
incredible people and organizations. This month we'd like to introduce
you to our partners at the Sea Turtle Restoration Project and Pretoma
and tell you a little about what they do.
The Organizations:
The Sea Turtle Restoration Project has one mission: to protect and restore endangered sea turtles and marine biodiversity worldwide in ways that incorporate the ecological needs of marine species and the economic needs of local communities, both of which share our common marine environment. They accomplish their mission through grassroots and policy-maker education, consumer empowerment, strategic litigation and by promoting sustainable local, national and international marine policies.
STRP has always employed a
range of strategies and tactics including demonstrations, letter-writing
and petitions, lawsuits, scientific conferences, collaboration with
fishers and government, regulatory processes, legislation and
on-the-ground beach protections to protect sea turtles.
*source: www.seaturtles.org
*source: www.seaturtles.org
PRETOMA is a Costa Rican non-profit NGO founded in 1997. They are a marine conservation and research organization working to protect ocean resources and promote sustainable fisheries policies in Costa Rica and Central America.
Costa Rica has an image as a conservationist country. Indeed there are many positive laws and regulations on paper in Costa Rica. However, marine conservation is very far behind land conservation there, and furthermore, many of the positive laws and regulations that do exist go unenforced.
As a result, Pretoma directs their efforts in the following categories:
Direct in the field conservation projects
Research and outreach on board commercial fishing vessels
Public awareness and education
Litigation and policy advocacy
Specific activities:
They have conducted a public campaign against shark finning in Costa Rica including gathering 80,000 petitions urging the government to ban this practice.
They constantly gather and publish data on sharks and sea turtles including in satellite tagging studies as well as studies on capture of these species in the national longline and shrimp fishing fleets.
They have ongoing outreach programs with the commercial fishery sector to introduce practices and devices (e.g., TEDs and “de-hookers”) which mitigate impacts on non-target species.
They maintain direct conservation projects to protect sea turtles and their nests on beaches on the Pacific coast (over 170,000 sea turtle hatchlings protected).
They conduct year round public awareness marine conservation campaigns as well as education programs in schools, high schools and universities.
They work directly with the Ministry of Environment and the Costa Rican Congress and regularly file lawsuits against government agencies such as the Fisheries Institute and Customs Department when policies promote unsustainable exploitation of marine resources.
*source: www.pretoma.org
Costa Rica has an image as a conservationist country. Indeed there are many positive laws and regulations on paper in Costa Rica. However, marine conservation is very far behind land conservation there, and furthermore, many of the positive laws and regulations that do exist go unenforced.
As a result, Pretoma directs their efforts in the following categories:
Direct in the field conservation projects
Research and outreach on board commercial fishing vessels
Public awareness and education
Litigation and policy advocacy
Specific activities:
They have conducted a public campaign against shark finning in Costa Rica including gathering 80,000 petitions urging the government to ban this practice.
They constantly gather and publish data on sharks and sea turtles including in satellite tagging studies as well as studies on capture of these species in the national longline and shrimp fishing fleets.
They have ongoing outreach programs with the commercial fishery sector to introduce practices and devices (e.g., TEDs and “de-hookers”) which mitigate impacts on non-target species.
They maintain direct conservation projects to protect sea turtles and their nests on beaches on the Pacific coast (over 170,000 sea turtle hatchlings protected).
They conduct year round public awareness marine conservation campaigns as well as education programs in schools, high schools and universities.
They work directly with the Ministry of Environment and the Costa Rican Congress and regularly file lawsuits against government agencies such as the Fisheries Institute and Customs Department when policies promote unsustainable exploitation of marine resources.
*source: www.pretoma.org
THE SCIENTISTS:
Todd Steiner
(Sea Turtle Restoration project).jpg)
Biologist and ocean activist Todd Steiner of Sea Turtle Restoration Project (STRP) in Forest Knolls, CA, near San Francisco has been fighting to stop the slide of sea turtles to extinction for 20 years. By using science and the threat of extinction to mobilize people around the world, Steiner’s organization has saved hundreds of thousands, or possibly millions, of disappearing sea turtles from death due to human activities. Mentored by the late environmental maverick David Brower, Executive Director Steiner, 52, founded Sea Turtle Restoration in 1989 to end the slaughter of 50,000 sea turtles in Mexico for skins and shells to make shoes and jewelry. After the slaughterhouse was closed and sea turtle products banned internationally, Steiner turned his attention to one of today’s biggest threat to the species: accidental by-catch in tuna, swordfish and shark fleets.
In addition to closing the sea turtle slaughterhouse in Mexico, STRP’s successes have included compelling 20 nations to use turtle-saving gear in their shrimp fleets; creating policy reform that instituted a 200,000 square mile Leatherback Conservation Area (LCA) along the California and Oregon coasts; closing harmful longline fisheries in Hawaii and along the West Coast and stopping the World Trade Organization from gutting U.S. sea turtle protection laws. Read more at http://www.seaturtles.org
Before founding STRP in 1989, Steiner, a herpetologist, was directing Earth Island Institute’s Save the Dolphin Project, which spawned the dolphin-safe tuna label. Under STRP, Steiner then launched a turtle-safe shrimp certification label in the late 1990s that was the precursor to the seafood certification programs and seafood cards so prevalent today. Along the way, STRP also supported and/or helped start new grassoots groups to protect sea turtles including: Help Endangered Animals-Ridley Turtles (HEART) in Houston Texas; PRETOMA in Costa Rica; and MAKATA in Papua New Guinea. He also initiated the sea turtle tagging and tracking research project on Cocos Island. As STRP projects grew, Steiner created a new umbrella non-profit Turtle Island Restoration Network (TIRN), incorporated in 1997. TIRN projects include STRP, the GotMercury? campaign to reduce human exposure from mercury in fish and the watershed group Salmon Protection and Watershed Network.
*source: www.marinebio.org
Randall Arauz
(PRETOMA)
Randall Arauz, son of Costa Rican immigrants, was born in Los Angeles, California. At the age of 10, his family moved back to their native Costa Rica where he studied biology at the University of Costa Rica to pursue his career in conservation. Randall has been an avid shark and turtle conservationist for more than a decade and founded PRETOMA (Programa Restauración de Tortugas Marinas) in Costa Rica in 1997 to protect ocean resources and promote sustainable fisheries policies.
As President and founder PRETOMA, Arauz's work in Cost Rica has raised international awareness about the practice of shark finning, or cutting of the fins of sharks while they are still alive and throwing them back into the ocean. His efforts have led to the implementation of fins-on laws, which require any shark fished in Costa Rica to have its fins still attached when landed. Randall
has worked tirelessly as an advocate for sharks and turtles, even
representing Costa Rica at several UN meetings and has called for a
complete ban on shark finning. In 2007, he participated in a UN
Convention of Migratory Species meeting as an official Costa Rican
delegate and was instrumental in the election of Costa Rica as a member
of a five-country commission tasked with drafting language for
international cooperation for the protection of sharks. Randall earned the 2010 Goldman Environmental Prize in recognition of his achievements in conservation.
*source: www.seaweb.org
*source: www.goldmanprize.org
UPCOMING EVENTS
WITH THE TURTLETRIBE
We have lots of exciting events coming up for the spring and summer
April 12, 2014: Pluckfastic Paddleboard Mission with the Westchester YMCA
April 22, 2014 (Earth Day): Pluckfastic Paddleboard Mission with the Westchester YMCA
April 25, 2014: Pluckfastic Paddleboard Mission with the Westchester YMCA
Fridays and Saturdays in May: Pluckfastic Paddleboard Missions open to the public
June 8, 2014: Stand Up Paddleboard Scavenger Hunt in conjunction with The Santa Monica Windjammers Yacht Club
August 24, 2014: Catalina Classic Paddleboard Race
To book a board for yourself, or to schedule a cleanup mission for you and your friends contact Erin Politz at Erin@kurmalliance.org. Also check out our events page at www.turtletribe.org for updates and info!
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