Barbados Turtles

With up to 500 females nesting per year, Barbados is home to the second-largest hawksbill turtle nesting population in the Caribbean. The Barbados Sea Turtle Project (BSTP) was established over 25 years ago and is working to find a sustainable balance between restoring the local marine turtle populations to healthy levels while still providing opportunities for sustainable use by the people and guests of Barbados. By incorporating monitoring, training, education, and public awareness programs, this dynamic organization is working to turn the turtle’s greatest threat, humans, into their biggest ally.

Green-Sea-Turtle

Green Sea Turtle

The primary nesting season for the hawksbill turtle runs from mid-May through mid to late October, a busy time in Barbados’ active tourist season. By partnering with the tourism industry, the Barbados Sea Turtle Project is turning a challenge into an opportunity. Sea Turtles have become a major attraction in Barbados and the BSTP is embracing this to help locals and visitors learn about the turtles and what they can do to help keep these magnificent creatures.

In addition to offering a 24-hour “Sea Turtle Hotline” to monitor sea turtle sightings and address sea turtle “emergencies,” the organization is involved in sea turtle conservation at all levels. Below is a list of some of the projects in which the Barbados Sea Turtle Project carries out:

  • Education – During the school year, BSTP volunteers make presentations to students throughout the island. Additional programs are offered to children attending various camps during the summer break.
  • Public Outreach – They offer presentations to hotel staff and visitors to help ensure that people are interacting safely with the sea turtles and can react appropriately if they find hatchlings or a turtle in distress.
  • Monitoring – The BSTP monitors the nesting beaches nightly for four months during the nesting season. The record whether the turtles attempted to nest, if there was anything that prevented nesting, if eggs were laid in a safe and secure location, and how many of the hatchlings emerge from the nest.
  • Research – Volunteers document all of the sea turtle nesting activities. They measure and weigh the females when possible, tag the animals for tracking purposes, and keep a running history of remigration intervals and results.
  • Rescue & Rehabilitation – When needed, the BSTP will step into rescue and rehabilitate sea turtles that have run into trouble by falling into swimming pools, getting caught in nets or other unfortunate circumstances.

greenseaturtlesAlthough the populations are not as high, Barbados is also home to leatherback, loggerhead, olive ridley, Kemp’s ridley, flatback, and green sea turtles. By collaborating and partnering with the government, tourism industry, and fellow NGOs like itself, the Barbados Sea Turtle Project has made great strides in successfully finding a balance between protecting it’s turtle population and meeting the needs of the local economy.

Watch People swim with the turtles in Barbados

 

 

Oyster Reclamation

oyster growing on peirLast year, we kicked off our summer with a Memorial Day party at a friend’s house. His home sits on the scenic South River, a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay, just south of Annapolis, Maryland. Little did we know, that day would turn into so much more than just a fun day with old friends.

After the all the kids, and some of the adults, wrapped up their adventures out on the river in our friend’s 14-foot sailboat, we relaxed on his pier and enjoyed the view. At one point, our friend mentioned that his baby oysters, aka “spat,” were grown and almost ready to go to their new home in the bay. He pulled up one of the eight cages he was caring for and explained his role as a volunteer in the South River Federation’s oyster restoration program.

Oyster Spat

Oyster Spat

In partnership with Marylanders Grow Oysters, the South River Federation gives hundreds of waterfront property owners the opportunity to participate in hands on oyster restoration. Volunteers with access to community piers or have their own, grow millions of young oysters in cages suspended from private piers each year. The volunteers are tasked with protecting the young oysters during their vulnerable first year of life, so they may be planted on local sanctuaries where the oysters enrich the ecosystem and our oyster population.

After attending an oyster husbandry workshop, volunteers pick up their spat in the late summer or early fall. Throughout the growing season, the volunteers measure the length of spat, track mortality, and measure dissolved oxygen levels throughout the growing season. In early June, the volunteers deposit their oysters in the Glebe Bay sanctuary during the South River Days Oyster Flotilla.

Why are oysters so important? Oysters are filter feeders. This means that they feed by pumping large volumes of water through their gills and filtering out plankton and other particles. As they filter water to get food, oysters also remove nutrients, suspended sediments andbay oyster sanctuary chemical contaminants, helping to keep the water clear and clean for bay grasses and other underwater life. One oyster can filter more than 50 gallons of water per day.

The spat fascinated the kids and adults alike and we all learned so much about their importance in the bay’s ecosystem. Having grown up near the ocean, I have always been enamored with our oceans and marine habitats. In 2000, I married an avid scuba diver on the beach and our now 12-year-old son might as well have been born with gills. That Memorial Day party changed our lives; we decided that it was time to apply our skills to make a positive difference and do something we love. The Marine & Oceanic Sustainability Foundation was sparked that weekend and has continued to grow with the support of friends, fellow ocean lovers, marine conservation organizations, and educators.

South River Federation - Kids Getting Spat

South River Federation – Kids Getting Spat