Be sure to check out our new web page with all the data from our very first In-Water Turtle Surveys in 2011!

http://www.ecomarbelize.org/in-water-scientific-surveys.html

There is a lot of really neat information about the turtles that we see here in Belize!
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Figure 1 - Climate Change Impacts - Marine Guides

Visitor to Belize Response Summary

Like marine guides, 100% of visitors to Belize believe that climate change is having an impact on the marine environment and affecting sea turtles.  Almost all of the visitors responding to the questionnaire stated that seeing a sea turtle while touring in Belize is important to them with 56% responded that seeing a sea turtle in Belize would impact their decision to visit Belize in the future! This is a very large percentage and shows just how important it is to conserve sea turtles to sustain the tourism industry!  100% of visitors responded that they believe it is important to conserve sea turtles. Many said that they believe it is important to conserve all nature and sea turtles in particular because they are beautiful and wonderful creatures.

If you are a marine guide, fisherman, coastal property owner, general public or have visited Belize recently and have not yet responded to our questionnaire then please fill it out to add to or database today!

As a part of the Belize Turtle Watch Program, questionnaires were created to gather data on perceived impacts on sea turtles in Belize and changes in their population over the years.  Questionnaires were created for a variety of groups including marine guides, coastal property owners, fishermen, general public, and visitors to Belize.  Presented here are initial summaries of two of these groups - marine guides & visitors to Belize!

Marine Guide Response Summary

When asked to what extent they thought that climate change had effected the marine environment, and specifically sea turtles in Belize, 100% of marine guides responded that it has had an impact as seen in Figure 1. Additionally, 86% of marine guides report that they believe the number of sea turtles in the waters of Belize has been decreasing over the time that they have been a marine guide.  Most marine guides responded that they believed the highest threat to sea turtles in Belize is illegal fishing while climate change is the lowest immediate threat to their population here. Finally, 100% of marine guides responded that they believe sea turtles are important to making their living with 71% responded that they are VERY important to their livelihood.
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Figure 2 - Climate Change Impact - Visitors to Belize
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On Friday, December 9th, ECOMAR volunteer Melanie Day had the opportunity to SKYPE with Ms. Baraba Bilgre's high school marine biology class from Atlanta, Georgia's Galloway School about sea turtles and their conservation in Belize.

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Back Row: Barbara Bilgre (Teacher), Erin Sowell, Ella Bartlett, Melissa Letzer, Allie Landis, Nathan Hines Front Row: Anna Gabianelli, Julia Sparks, Erica Swope, Max Leopold Not pictured but present for the SKYPE session: Mackenzie Kennedy
The class had many questions about sea turtles in Belize and how we are working to be protect them for years to come! It was a joy to speak to them and answer their questions. Ella Bartlett says, "It was awesome getting some insight on how people are helping the sea turtles." Thank you to Ms. Bilgre's class for your enthusiasm for learning about sea turtles!
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The morning of Sunday, November 27th, 2011 Helene Hess of Las Terrazas Resort on San Pedro was diving at Mata Canyon when she spotted a falling comet starfish!  She states that while diving they observed this starfish falling from above and then watched it settle on coral around 65 feet. She believes it may have been dropped by a bird since it was sighted falling through the water.  A very exciting sighting for our Reef Rally as these are rarely sighted in Belize!
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Photo Credit: Helene Hess
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Marine park managers throughout Belize are conducting the 1st Annual In-Water Sea Turtle Survey as part of the Belize Turtle Watch Program's Annual Sea Turtle Census.  

Biologists and fishermen are working together to conduct scientific surveys along reefs throughout Belize and capture, measure, tag and release turtles encountered during surveys.

The program builds on training received by many of the marine park staff at Wildlife Conservation Society at their biannual In-Water Turtle Monitoring Program at Glover's Atoll.

We'll be sure to present you with more details on these studies!
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