How to help on Earth Day
This Earth Day, people around the world marched in support of scientifically sound public policy. …/u-scientists-protest-trump-policies… Yet, funding for important marine research is in serious danger of being slashed despite ongoing needs. …/trump-s-budget-chops-sea-grant-p… …/florida-sea-grant-could-face-t… …/04/alaska-sea-grant-danger-losing-funding/ Luckily, many politicians see the error in this slash and burn budgetary thinking. …/Bipartisan-Senate-effort-to-save… In honor of Earth Day, we would like to encourage you to join them to help fight against policies based on ignorance and greed. Take a few moments to donate to any number of organizations who actively work to protect our environment. Good national and international organizations to consider include: Sea turtle specific organizations: <---- one of our collaborators whose sole focus is our nesting beach.
Happy Earth Day!
As an Earth Day "thank you" to the dedicated work of all the members of Vida Milenaria - who make all of this possible - some members of the Tecolutla Turtle Preservation Project created this video. Enjoy.
Mexico City’s taco al pastor and its Lebanese roots
Tacos al pastor is a regional culinary specialty of Mexico City, and one of our favorite things to eat when we go to Mexico. Apparently, it has its roots in middle eastern Sharwarma, which makes sense when you see them preparing it. Of course, its been highly modified since its introduction and its roots are only recognizable in the cooking method and pretty much nothing else.
How much will BP pay for restoration?
Five years after the BP oil its still unclear just how extensive the damage is to the ecosystems of the Gulf of Mexico. So, how can we calculate how much it will cost for restoration?
The lingering effects of the BP Oil Spill
Houstonia Magazine has a nice article that briefly describes the impact of the oil spill on Kemp's ridleys. Dr. Donna Shaver from the US Park Service features prominently in the article.
Louisiana takes important step towards finally enforcing TED regulations
Louisiana lawmakers finally have taken the important step towards enforcing federal Turtle Excluder Device (TED) regulations. Shrimp fisheries operate by dragging a large net behind a boat and scooping up everything in their way - including sea turtles. Since the turtles have to surface to breathe, they used to drown in these nets before TED regulations went into place in the early 1990s. TEDs give the turtles an "escape hatch" with minimal impact on catch success. Watch them in action below:
It is almost time for our Study Abroad trip!
Our yearly USC Study Abroad trip is a month away! Today is the last day that students can register for the course. If you haven't already registered with the SA Office, do so now. In anticipation of our upcoming adventure, I wanted to share some information about a couple of stops we will take along the way. We will visit the great ancient city of Teotihuacán located just outside of Mexico City. (more…)
The Southeast Regional Sea Turtle Network meeting begins today.
The SERTSN meeting is a biennial meeting for people working with sea turtles in the southeastern United States. It began in 2011, making this its second meeting. The TMTR collaboration will be represented at the meeting - though not because of their work in Tecolutla. Andrew Coleman will be presenting work that he has done with juvenile kemp's ridley turtles in the Gulf of Mexico. The SE US turtle habitats are critical to the turtles nesting in Tecolutla and a meeting like this gives us the opportunity to remember and discuss the importance of the connections between what might seem like disparate locations.