It was 2006 and I was attending for the first time the annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation in Crete, Greece. Two key figures, Martin Hall from the IATTC and Takahisa Mituhasi from OFCF-Japan, who were responsible for the “Programme on the reduction of sea turtle bycatch in Eastern Pacific longline fisheries”, came to me with the following challenge: “we are looking for a veterinarian who has experience with sea turtles and hooks, who can speak Spanish and English, and who would be willing to come on a longline boat with us in the American Pacific for a few weeks“. I accepted immediately, without hesitation. And so began my professional career working with fishermen to define the best handling and release practices for sea turtles incidentally caught in fishing gear.
Oral presentation during the session on bycatch.
At the pre-symposium workshop on bycatch, we had the opportunity to briefly present our completed studies to date in southern Brazil regarding the issue of gas embolism and decompression sickness in sea turtles caught by pair trawl fleets. This study has been groundbreaking, and after several years of work, it has yielded results that increasingly point to the need to reduce sea turtle captures by nets, without being able to rely on improving animal handling post-capture, as is possible in longline fisheries.
Workshop on sea turtle rehabilitation and medicine.
Besides, it’s worth noting that, for the first time in the congress’s history, an official scientific session on “Rehabilitation, Health, and Veterinary Care” was held, in which we had the honor of being part of the organizing scientific committee.
The 42nd International Sea Turtle Symposium brought together over 600 professionals from all over the world, with an outstanding participation from the Indian Ocean, Asia, and especially Southeast Asia regions. Throughout the congress, many key aspects related to sea turtles were discussed, such as work on nesting beaches, remote animal tracking, community engagement, environmental education, toxicology, genetics, and many more. Thematic workshops, regional workshops and field visits further enriched the participants’ experience.
This symposium represents an immense global collaborative effort in the study and conservation of sea turtles. It is a real pleasure to be able to connect with colleagues, spend time discussing sea turtles, learn from other initiatives, make new contacts and help inspire new generations. As always, we come back full of energy and new ideas. We have only been back, and we are already thinking about next year’s Symposium in Ghana. We will definitely be there!
