January 20, 2022 • Program Updates
We are proud to announce that Oceanic Society has awarded 19 small grants to sea turtle conservation projects in Cabo Verde, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Fiji, Indonesia, Madagascar, Mexico, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Sudan, and the United States. The grants were made as part of our State of the World’s Sea Turtles (SWOT) Program, a global effort to support and strengthen local sea turtle conservation, which hosts an annual small grants competition.
Since 2006, SWOT’s small grants have helped field-based partners around the world to realize an array of important research and conservation goals. To date, 123 grants have been awarded to 102 applicants in more than 53 countries and territories. The 19 grants awarded in late 2021 were made possible through generous support from the Alben F. Bates & Clara G. Bates Foundation, Marisa I. Hormel Trust, Moore Family Foundation, Offield Family Foundation, and Seiko Watch of America, and the following grant-specific donors.
For the third consecutive year, SWOT partnered with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and its Sea Turtle SAFE (Saving Animals from Extinction) program to make nine additional grants for projects related to the conservation of two of the top global priorities for sea turtle conservation—eastern Pacific leatherbacks and Kemp’s ridley turtles. Those grantees are marked with a (*) on the list below.
In addition:
- Memorial donations made in honor of Marjorie Lee Kemp (1927-2021) allowed us to award one additional grant to an education and outreach project led by an early career woman (denoted with ** on the list below).
- Donations from the Mast family, Russell Mittermeier (Re:wild), and Gail Evenari (Maiden Voyage Productions) supported two important initiatives underway in Mexico (denoted with *** on the list below).
- SC Johnson generously donated Scubapro snorkel gear for one additional grantee (denoted with **** on the list below).
Meet Our 2021 Sea Turtle Grant Recipients
The following are brief overviews of our 2021 grantees.
* The Palmarito Sea Turtle Rescue (PSTR) (Mexico) will conduct mobile dog spay/neuter and education events along the Pacific coast of Oaxaca in order to decrease canine predation of sea turtles, eggs, and hatchlings on important nesting beaches for eastern Pacific leatherback turtles.
* Sea Turtle, Inc. (USA) will conduct outreach and education among students in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas to engage the local community in helping to protect the critically endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles that nest there.
* Paso Pacifico (Nicaragua) will lead interactive lessons with 100 Junior Rangers from 8 low-income communities on the Pacific coast to encourage a change in behaviors around illegal sea turtle egg harvest that impacts critically endangered eastern Pacific leatherback turtles.
* The Leatherback Project (Ecuador) will survey fishers at various ports to understand their relationships and perspectives around the ocean, marine wildlife, and conservation with the long-term goals of improving the livelihoods of artisanal fishers, increasing marine wildlife populations (including leatherback turtles), and fostering relationships between fishers and governmental agencies.

A grant to CIFAMAC in Chile will go to study a newly discovered leatherback turtle feeding area. © Philip Hamilton
* CIFAMAC (Centro de Investigación de Fauna Marina y Avistamiento de Cetáceos) (Chile) will conduct boat and drone surveys of Mejillones Bay, a newly discovered leatherback foraging area on Chile’s Atacama Coast, to generate valuable information about the distribution, behavior, habitat use, and demographics of eastern Pacific leatherback turtles.
* Turtles Fly Too (USA) will recruit and train “Turtle Fliers,” general aviation pilots who contribute their aircraft, time, and expertise to fly cold-stunned sea turtles (including Kemp’s ridleys) to rehabilitation facilities, and will plan their flights and coordinate response teams to help assure the turtles’ survival.

A grant in Mexico will go toward protecting sea turtle nesting beaches in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast. © Campamento Tortuguero Ayotlcalli
* Campamento Tortuguero Ayotlcalli (Mexico) will lead beach surveys, protect sea turtle nests, tag turtles, and organize community education and outreach activities on and adjacent to eastern Pacific leatherback sea turtle nesting beaches in Guerrero, Mexico.
* The Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Research at Texas A&M University Galveston (USA) will bring awareness to the public and build a network of volunteers in Galveston, Texas to more quickly locate nesting, stranded, or deceased sea turtles and respond to sick or injured sea turtles (including Kemp’s ridleys).

A grant to the Gulf Center of Sea Turtle Research at Texas A&M University Galveston will go toward the expansion of their volunteer network for sea turtle rescue in Texas.
* Gladys Porter Zoo and Rancho San José (Mexico) will expand their tagging operations on two major Kemp’s ridley nesting beaches in Mexico—La Pesca and Tepehuajes—using state-of-the-art tags and tagging protocols to generate data needed to evaluate the survival status and recovery of the Kemp’s ridley.
Mas Kagin Tapani Association (MAKATA) (Papua New Guinea) will lead education and awareness efforts in the village of Sarang, Madang Province, on the values, threats, and methods to protect leatherback sea turtles while simultaneously benefiting local stakeholders.
Ocean Connectors (Mexico) will educate, inspire, and connect youth in underserved Pacific coastal communities in Nayarit, Mexico through the study of migratory marine life and projects that address waste reduction and litter abatement behaviors.
Abdel-Rahman El Mahdi (Sudan) will fill the data gap on nesting and foraging sea turtles in the Marine Protected Area of Dungonab Bay and Mukkawar Island to inform conservation and management efforts in the MPA.
Aroen Meubanja Community Group (Indonesia) will conduct a comprehensive study on leatherback turtle habitat use in Sumatra in collaboration with local communities to provide the necessary ecological foundation for a management strategy for leatherback sea turtles.
CNRE (Centre National de Recherche sur l’Environnement) (Madagascar) will integrate fishermen, fish sellers, and market consumers into stakeholder groups and facilitate communication between communities and law enforcement to combat the incidental capture and trade of sea turtle products.
Shritika S Prakash of the University of the South Pacific (Fiji) will train fisheries officers, marine biologists, wardens/rangers, conservation officers, village headmen, and biology and marine science graduates to conduct sea turtle monitoring and conservation work in remote areas of Fiji.
** Comunidad Protectora de Tortugas de Osa (COPROT) (Costa Rica) will expand a community-based recycling center that upcycles plastic debris collected on sea turtle nesting beaches of the Osa Peninsula and will host an educational workshop to familiarize the community with plastics and their threats to sea turtles and ecosystem health.
*** Centro Mexicano de la Tortuga (Mexico) will assist with the management of olive ridley turtle arribada sites and operate their regional rescue and rehabilitation center that provides medical care and facilities for injured and sick turtles in the state of Oaxaca.

A grant to Mexico will support sea turtle conservation efforts on Playa Colola. © Ashleigh Bandimere
*** Colola Proyecto de Tortugas (Mexico) will continue their vital nest protection and monitoring work that has helped to dramatically increase the once-failing population of black (green) sea turtles and unite the communities of Colola, Maruata, and others around sea turtle conservation in the state of Michoacán.
**** Fundação Tartaruga Cabo Verde (Cabo Verde) will receive Scubapro snorkel equipment provided by SC Johnson that will allow them to lead swimming lessons integrated with environmental education to the children of Boa Vista with the goal of connecting them to endangered sea turtles and their habitats.
