Marine Turtle Symposium

VIIIth Marine Turtle Symposium

In late October of 2006, WWF Guianas, along with STINASU, LBB, and hosted a symposium on marine turtles in Paramaribo, Suriname. The goal of the symposium was to bring the various interested groups together and find ways to protect the future of the turtles for all involved. The theme for the symposium was "Reducing Fisheries Bi-catch and Illegal Egg Harvesting."

During the three day event, representatives of wildlife and conservation groups, captains from the local villages, and fishermen from all across the Guianas spoke about the conditions of the marine turtles in their country. 

The symposium opened with words from the Minister of  Physical Planning, Lands and Forest Management and representatives from the various groups hosting the symposium, and was followed by a number of country presentations by the various research organizations operating in the region (many of them with significant support from WWF Guianas and WWF NL).

These organizations presented results of their turtle monitoring work in the Guianas and primarily provided a synopsis on the status of the turtles in Guyana, French Guiana, and Suriname.  Over the course of the three days, the representatives worked on finding solutions to the various problems facing the turtles throughout the region, ranging from poachers raiding the nesting beaches to the turtles themselves accidentally being caught in fishing nets.

Other issues included the role of the indigenous people in turtle conservation and ecotourism, identification of economic alternatives to the harvesting of turtle eggs, and the need for enforcement of current laws.

An important part of the symposium was the networking that occurred, and the coordination of the conservation approaches of the various turtle groups throughout the Guianas.  WWF is one of the primary links between these organizations, as it operates within all three countries.

The symposium also gave participants opportunities for cultural exchanges, as they were exposed to Surinamese culture during the three days.  Local food was served at the meeting, and the participants spent an evening at a popular beach resort where they had a chance to see and be a part of traditional dancing by some Surinamese Maroons.

The symposium was an important success for WWF. For the first time, there was significant involvement and contribution by two key groups: the indigenous people who live near the nesting beaches of the sea turtles and have done so for centuries and the fishermen who are unintentionally but primarily responsible for the deaths of turtles caught in their fish nets.  Working solutions are still to be defined, but the symposium was important in demonstrating the progress made in turtle conservation and to identify possible opportunities to work together.