Here is a fascinating article by Caroline Taylor for National Geographic. She says, “From data collection to caring for injured turtles, get hands-on in one of Earth’s most important sea turtle conservation programs. [. . .] Regardless of ability or experience, there’s a way for everyone to aid new generations of sea turtles survive against the odds. Here’s what you need to know about the threats these animals are facing, and how you can get involved to help.”

Sea turtles have been around since the time of the dinosaurs, having survived multiple extinction events over 100 million years. But the cascading effects of human activity have caused rapid population decline, and now six of the seven sea turtle species are considered threatened.

There are glimmers of hope, through the dedicated work of conservationists and community-based organizations around the world. It’s what has made Trinidad and Tobago—a two-island nation at the southern end of the Caribbean archipelago—one of the most important leatherback rookeries in the Western Hemisphere, and the second-largest, after Gabon. [. . .]

The turtle-watching tours they run provide vital revenue to fund monitoring and patrols; and volunteers—including travelers from overseas—power that work in the field.

“It’s literally our passion—nobody gets into this to make money,” says Giancarlo Lalsingh, who’s spent 30 years in local conservation, including over a decade at Save Our Sea Turtles (SOS Tobago). “It’s really tough. But the outcome of all that work is so worth it.”

A six-decade success story

Trinidad and Tobago is perhaps best known for steel drums, calypso, limbo, and Caribbean-style carnival. But in the quiet of forests and beaches, a different kind of enchantment awaits. [. . .]

Five sea turtle species visit Trinidad and Tobago’s waters: leatherbacks, hawksbills, greens, loggerheads, and olive ridleys. The first three nest across both islands—primarily on Trinidad’s north and east coasts and in smaller numbers around Tobago through nesting season (March to August for leatherbacks, and May to November for hawksbills).

Five sea turtle species visit Trinidad and Tobago’s waters: leatherbacks, hawksbills, greens, loggerheads, and olive ridleys. The first three nest across both islands—primarily on Trinidad’s north and east coasts and in smaller numbers around Tobago through nesting season (March to August for leatherbacks, and May to November for hawksbills).

During nesting months, more than 6,000 turtles (and as many as 10,000) will lay on the islands’ beaches. The greatest concentration of them will be at Grande Riviere—a beach less than a mile long in a remote village on Trinidad’s north coast, and the densest leatherback nesting ground in the world. On a busy night in the peak months (May and June), up to 500 turtles can nest on this beach alone; and up to 400 at Matura, a larger beach on the rural northeast coast. [. . .]

Volunteers are responsible for making Trinidad and Tobago’s humble turtle conservation a success story on a global scale. They spend untold hours tagging, counting, and measuring nesting mothers; monitoring and sometimes even relocating nests; and helping safeguard the turtles from predators and threats. Their hard work has caused leatherback meat and egg poaching to fall to near zero. [. . .]

Read full article at https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/how-turtle-watching-tours-actually-help-conservation

Caroline Taylor is a writer based in Trinidad and Tobago. You can find her on Twitter.

[Shown above, photo by Mauricio Handler, Nat Geo Image Collection: Only one in a thousand leatherback turtles survive to sexual maturity and return to the place of their birth to lay their eggs, like this nesting mother in Matura, Trinidad. Critical turtle conservation programs welcome travelers to get involved in Trinidad and Tobago.]