Happy Earth Day!

Have a wonderful Earth Day 2013!

How can you help sea turtles?

1. Give up unsustainable seafood. 
• If you don't know where it comes from and how it was caught, then don't eat it. Simple, right? 
• Shrimp, for example, often are fished in unsustainable ways that drown or harm sea turtles. 
• That tuna sushi that you love might have come from a fishing boat using longline fishing, which kills lots of wildlife. And if you're eating bluefin tuna, you might be eating an endangered species!
2. Give up single-use plastic.
• Bring your own reusable bag when shopping and say no to plastic bags.
• Bring your own water bottle instead of buying bottled water.
• Skip the straw or bring your own instead of using plastic straws.
3. Drive less.
• Really? Yes, the less you drive or do other things that generate carbon pollution, the more that you help reduce the problem of climate change, which is a serious threat to our oceans and sea turtles.
• As an alternative, relax on public transportation, walk, or enjoy a fun bike ride to your destination.
4. Enjoy sea turtles from a distance.
• If you're lucky enough to see a sea turtle in the wild, then don't bother it. Just enjoy it from a distance and let it enjoy its day.

Don't forget that World Oceans Day is coming on June 8!

Mahalo Nui Loa from Honu.Org

Please vote -- because sea turtles can't!

Every election is an important one for the oceans and the many endangered species that live in them. The threats to our oceans only grow if we don't take action. One action that you can take for the oceans is to go out and vote for the candidate that you think will best protect our beloved sea turtles, our oceans, and other natural resources.

On behalf of the oceans and their wonderful sea turtles -- thanks for voting and participating in our democracy!

Donate $10 for Turtles to reach our $2010 goal!

Aloha!

We are wrapping up the year and asking you to please help us make 2010 a success. Please click the link below and donate $10 or more to Honu.Org by January 20, 2010.

Please make our $10 for Turtles in 2010 campaign a success by sharing this link with your friends and family. We need your help to raise $2010 that will support expansion of our sea turtle education and advocacy efforts.

Please help us if you can spare $10 for turtles!

Mahalo nui loa!

Oppose increased Hawaii swordfish longline fishing that endangers sea turtles by 5/18

If you have not already, please submit your opposition online to increased Hawaii swordfish longline fishing that harms sea turtles by May 18 by clicking: http://ow.ly/58tg

Federal regulations are proposed that would increase the longline fishery for swordfish in Hawai'i. This unnecessary increasing in catching toxic swordfish will further threaten endangered leatherback sea turtles,whose Pacific populations collapsed to less than 10 percent during the 1980s and 1990s, and loggerhead sea turtles.

Please tell the federal government that even a few injured or killed leatherbacks and loggerhead sea turtles is too many when these populations are so endangered. The current plan could triple the number of deaths if it is not stopped and further risk sea turtle extinction in the Pacific.

Swordfish is known to contain high levels methylmercury (a neurotoxin that should be avoided) and other contaminants because they bioaccumulate ocean toxins brought up the food chain. Some restaurants will not even serve swordfish anymore because of tumors in the tissue and concerns about its health effects. The question is why risk harming critically endangered sea turtles to put poison on your plate?

Please act by May 18 with your comments to tell the federal government to that we cannot risk sea turtles for increased swordfish catches. Swordfish, along with many top ocean predators, have also declined dramatically and should be protected from overfishing, too.

Thank you for your support of sustainable oceans!

Please also join us in our 10 for Turtles Campaign! In honor of World Turtle Day on May 23, we are asking Twitter users to donate $10 or any amount to help Honu.Org in our advocacy efforts.

Simply go to http://www.honu.org, then click on the link at the top for a quick and secure donation. Please follow us on Twitter while you are at it: http://twitter.com/honu to get our updates.

Thank you again! Mahalo!

Grupo Tortguero and International Sea Turtle Symposium in Baja this month

Once again, I am heading down to Loreto in Baja California Sur, Mexico, for the annual Grupo Tortuguero meeting from January 19-20, 2008. I will be participating at the conference through the great people at ProPeninsula, which is based in San Diego and does amazing work in Baja for sea turtles and other community-based conservation efforts (Consider supporting them with a sea turtle adoption - it's a fun gift).

Following the 10th annual meeting of Grupo Tortuguero, I'll be attending the 28th International Sea Turtle Society Symposium held January 21-26 of 2008.

May 18, Endangered Species Day

Today is Endangered Species Day and a great time to remember the endangered sea turtles of the world, especially the leatherback and loggerhead sea turtles.

Too busy to learn more or too broke to donate to help? Well, this weekend, give up shrimp, tuna, swordfish, and shark because fishing for those seafood options leads to many turtle deaths each year. So how about giving them up if only for the weekend?

Watch "Voyage of the Lonely Turtle" on PBS, Apr. 15

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/

From April 15, PBS stations across the nation will start broadcasting a new documentary about the amazing journey of the loggerhead sea turtles that is titled, "VOYAGE OF THE LONELY TURTLE." Check you local station for times and other dates. Be sure to check out this great story about sea turtles. Lots of interesting things on the PBS website, including downloads and games.

"A solitary loggerhead turtle in the middle of a vast ocean may not sound like an adventure film, but stick with her. Along her 9000-mile voyage to nest, our loggerhead tour guide in VOYAGE OF THE LONELY TURTLE encounters hammerhead sharks, deep ocean tempests, and man-made death traps in the form of fishing nets and hooks. Her body of well-suited armor and specialized adaptations for deep-ocean dwelling will help the sea turtle evade many of the ocean's menaces. But this is just one set of challenges to overcome. Here is another: she must find her way across the Pacific, from Mexico to a small stretch of beach in Japan, a precise location that she has been to just once before, as a two-inch hatchling, decades ago.

Researchers have learned a great deal about how this curious creature could make such a phenomenal voyage. Some of the most valuable information was gained from a single voyage. Scientist Wallace J. Nichols released the captive loggerhead turtle, Adelita, into the Pacific a decade ago. Over the course of a year, Adelita did what no sea turtle had ever done before, she took researchers and turtle enthusiasts along on her journey, to her beach, to nest. Since then, researchers have shed much light on how sea turtles like loggerheads navigate the astounding trip. One of the more fascinating aspects of this navigation is the turtle's use of magnetic mapping to chart its course.

NATURE'S VOYAGE OF THE LONELY TURTLE premieres Sunday, April 15th at 8 p.m. (ET) on PBS (check your local listings)"

The Great Turtle Race - Leatherback Sea Turtles Race for their Lives!

Yahoo and other groups are sponsoring "The Great Turtle Race" to raise awareness about the critically endangered leatherback sea turtles in the Pacific Ocean.

http://www.greatturtlerace.com/

Although leatherbacks have existed for a 100 million years, they may go extinct in the next 10 years. Do your part to learn more and take action to protect sea turtles from extinction.

Leatherbacks will be released from Costa Rica and head to the Galapagos Islands. Learn about their fatastic voyage the perils they face in the oceans.

Habitat destruction by beach development, consumption of sea turtles and their eggs, ocean pollution that kills, and wasteful fishing techniques are all causing the rapid decline of leatherback sea turtles and other wildlife.

You can help save sea turtles no matter where you are by avoiding seafood that is caught by destructive fishing methods, such as longline fishing and drift gillnet fishing. Tuna, swordfish, and shark - all declining in numbers as well - are often caught by methods that kill or injure other wildlife. Do your part and learn about sustainable seafood alternatives or skip seafood altogether.

Ask the Vatican to End Sea Turtle Consumption During Lent

The great people at Pro Peninsula are organizing a campaign to ask the Pope and the Vatican to encourage Catholics to stop eating sea turtles during Lent. Please take action now to support this effort!

http://www.propeninsula.org/campaign/1/5.html

Pro Peninsula stated that an estimated 10,000 sea turtles are killed and eaten during holiday festivals each year! With so few sea turtles remaining in our oceans, it's imperative that communities find alternative foods that are healthy for the people who eat them and do not put sea turtles at risk of extinction.