Second Meeting on Research and Conservation of Sea Turtles

LAURA PROSDOCIMI; ALEJANDRO FALLABRINO; MARTIN LAPORTA; GILBERTO SALES

MARINE TURTLE NEWSLETTER

Año: 2005 p. 11 - 11

0839-7708

The Second Meeting on Research and Conservation of Sea Turtles in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean (ASO) was held in San Clemente del Tuyú, Buenos Aires, Argentina, from September 31 to October 2, 2004. Around 70 specialists from Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and colleagues from Chile attended to the meeting with special participation from Dr. Jack Frazier (Conservation and Research Center, Smithsonian Institution), Dr. Carlos Drews (Regional Coordinator for Marine Turtle Conservation in Latin America and the Caribbean WWF) and Dr. Alonso Aguirre (Wildlife Trust). The main objective of the meeting was to implement the bases for the creation of a regional plan for the conservation of the sea turtles in the region, as well as to share new scientific information on the biology, conservation and rehabilitation of marine turtles, standardize the working methodologies and scientific protocols among the diverse projects that work in the area, to improve the data management and investigations. As a result two resolutions were generated: “Resolution to Mitigate the Impacts of the Incidental Fishing on Sea Turtles” and “Resolution to Support the Regional Participation in the Interamerican Convention for the Protection and Conservation of the Sea Turtles”. These are available at <http://tmaso.s5.com>.Another result of the meeting was a detailed document about the impact of the fisheries on the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean. Valuable information was exchanged regarding sea turtle rehabilitation procedures and also an evaluation of the different strategies of environmental education applied in the region. To download the Proceedings, visit the web page: <www.seaturtle. org/pdf/Resumenes_2004_ASO2.pdf > In addition, it was agreed that further meetings will be welcomed, and Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil was elected as the location where the Third Meeting will be held in October, 2005. The Second Meeting was supported by the following organizations: FREPLATA, World Wildlife Found (WWF-Latin- American), Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina (FVSA), Oceanario Mundo Marino, and sponsored by: IUCN/MTSG Marine Turtle Specialist Group, Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), IUCN Argentina committee, Interamerican Convention for the Protection and Conservation of the Sea Turtles (CIT), Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST), International Sea Turtle Society (ISTS), Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS),Wildlife Trust Alliance (WTA), Asociación Herpetológica Argentina and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.