Hawksbill Habitat

Schoolchildren from Ostional, Nicaragua
named this Hawksbill Brasilia

Thought to be locally extinct as recently as 2007, the Eastern Pacific Hawksbill has been the subject of recent study using satellite telemetry. Our friends at ICAPO (the Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative), working with other organizations, have just published their findings in the scientific journal Biology Letters.

After two years of turtle tracking, this team of turtle biologists has observed that, unlike what we know of their Carribbean and Indo-Pacific relatives, the Eastern Pacific Hawksbill population relies on mangrove estuaries for foraging habitat. Given that most Hawksbills have always been observed to inhabit coastal reefs, it's possible that among the preliminary findings of this study is the potential that we're watching an evolutionary adaptation indicating a different species emerging in the Eastern Pacific.

We're proud to have contributed to these efforts to better understand the critically endangered Hawksbill sea turtle, and we're especially pleased to see this exciting research has garnered a good deal of press.

LA Times:
Endangered hawksbill turtles make a surprise appearance Scientists find a population of endangered hawksbill turtles unexpectedly making a go of it in mangrove estuaries.

BBC Latin America:
Cómo se resolvió el misterio de las tortugas Carey
(This is a great photo essay.)

Huff Post Green:
Hawksbill Sea Turtles Not Extinct In Eastern Pacific

Science News:
Hawksbill turtles in funny places

August Newsletter Now Online

Conservation in ACTION 
Javier, a student from the fishing villiage of Ostional, shows us a big smile as the Nicaraguan muralist Lezamón paints a stunning landscape on the wall of the local elementary school. The artwork depicts the distinctive forests, coastline and volcanoes of Nicaragua and includes wildlife unique to the Paso del Istmo, such as the yellow-naped parrot, the two-toed slot and various species of sea turtles....

Partnerships make it possible
The Danish International Cooperation Agency (DANIDA) has made it possible for us to launch a new project called COASTAL-MARINE RESEARCH: Ensuring the scientific and educational bases for the protection and management of sea turtles near the La Flor and Río Escalante-Chacocente protected areas....

Read the newsletter online.

A Successful Waterman's Weekend

Paso Pacifico's Executive Director Sarah Otterstrom and Communications Director Wendy Purnell just returned from SIMA's 22nd annual Waterman's Weekend, where Paso Pacifico was honored as one of their 20 beneficiaries! The turnout included more than 675 of the surf industry's most notable environmental stewards, and the event raised over $400,000 for non-profits like us that work to conserve ocean resources.

Sarah Otterstrom, Paso Pacifico's Executive Director

Photo: shop-eat-surf.com

Jessie Creel with Paso Pacifico's Wendy Purnell

Photo: shop-eat-surf.com

Paso Pacifico enjoyed a festive weekend and was able to meet organizations and individuals who are as enthusiastic about the environment as we are! The weekend's itinerary included the Annual Waterman's Classic Golf Tournament at Monarch Beach Golf Links in Dana point on August 11 and the Annual Waterman's Ball at the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel on August 12.

Honorees were chosen for their impact on the sport of surfing as well as their work in ocean conservation, and included big wave surfing champion Greg Long as Waterman of the Year, former Malibu mayor and environmental activist Jeff"Zuma Jay" Wagner as Environmentalist of the Year, and Hawaiian big wave surfer and board shaper George Downing with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Paul Naude with the weekend's honorees George Downing,

Greg Long and Jefferson "Zuma Jay" Wagner

Photo: Brent Hilleman via business.transworld.net

For more information on the weekend's activities and beneficiaries, as well as details on the work we've accomplished with SIMA's grant money, see the post below!

SIMA 2011 Waterman's Weekend

Paso Pacífico is looking forward to the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association’s 2011 Waterman’s Weekend, coming up on August 11 & 12. This annual event is a fundraiser for SIMA’s Environmental Fund and an opportunity to recognize those who work for ocean conservation. Every year, the Environmental Fund chooses 20 ocean-related, non-profit organizations as beneficiaries, and Paso Pacifico is proud to again receive this honor!

The events of Waterman’s Weekend will begin on the first day with the Waterman’s Classic Golf Tournament and a surf contest as well as live and silent auctions. The second day marks the 22nd Waterman’s Ball and Auction, which honors and celebrates leaders in industry and raises money for oceanic causes.

Locals Ready to Surf in San Juan del Sur

Last year, Paso Pacífico used this grant from SIMA to work with the budding Nicaraguan surf community and channel their passion for the ocean into environmental action. Nicaragua is en route to becoming a major surf desination, a factor which drives tourism and economic development along the coasts. Locals are essential to building a thriving surf culture, and Paso Pacifico aims to give them a voice and a tight-knit community.

To do so, we held monthly educational workshops for local surfers in San Juan del Sur, which built awareness about marine debris and how it affects the functioning of our watersheds. Each workshop was accompanied by a beach cleanup to mobilize surfers, build community and keep Nicaraguan’s favorite surf spots clean.

Through these workshops, a core group of ocean-minded surfers realized that they, too, could influence environmental policy. When an important surf break at Playa Madras was closed last year, Paso Pacífico provided legal assistance and organized a meeting between the surfers and the government in order to successfully reopen it again. With our organizational training, this group of local surfers formed the San Juan del Sur Surf Association, which will independently forward surfers' interests and work for cleaner coasts.

This year, Paso Pacífico will use the grant to again support local surf culture and provide environmental workshops to an expanded group of Nicaraguans.

We would like to thank SIMA for this recognition and are excited for the opportunities that lie ahead for ocean conservation!

Turtle Whisperer

Alexander Gaos, co-founder of ICAPO, our partner in sea turtle conservation, is featured in the latest issue of Conservation Magazine.  They call him the Turtle Whisperer.

Today is Endangered Species Day!

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife service has declared May 20, 2011 Endangered Species Day to recognize the importance of protecting endangered species, to acknowledge the ongoing work of conservationists, and to commemorate the victories of the Endangered Species Act. Numerous species have been pulled from the brink of extinction thanks to the hard work of conservationists like those working with Paso Pacifico. 

Today, as we celebrate our successes, we must also take time to help the species whose futures are still uncertain.

Critically endangered hawksbill sea turtles and black-handed spider monkeys have slow maturation rates and low reproductive rates, which makes their vulnerability to poaching, habitat fragmentation and degradation especially dangerous. That is why Paso Pacifico is on the ground in Central America employing rangers to guard important sea turtle nesting sites, and working with local communities to improve habitat protection, among other life-saving projects.

If you’d like to learn more about what Paso Pacifico is doing to keep these animals from disappearing, please visit our website at http://pasopacifico.org/saving-wildli...


Remember, extinction is forever. 

The Flip Side of Tilapia

Yesterday, the New York Times reported on the costs and benefits of factory farmed tilapia and they zoomed in on Nicaragua.

Dr. McCrary has spent the past decade studying how a small, short-lived tilapia farm degraded Lake Apoyo in Nicaragua. “One small cage screwed up the entire lake — the entire lake!” he said of the farm, which existed from 1995 to 2000.  

Waste from the cages polluted the pristine ecosystem, and some tilapia escaped. An aquatic plant called charra, an important food for fish, disappeared, leaving the lake a wasteland. Today, some species of plants and fish are slowly recovering, but others are probably gone forever, said Dr. McCrary, who works for the Nicaraguan foundation FUNDECI.

Read the entire article, which reminds us that choices we make here affect ecosystems near and far.