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It was agreed that as soon as possible a fully democratic process should be designed and enacted to involve the membership in honouring colleagues and organisations making extraordinary contributions to the international sea turtle biology and conservation. In the interim years (2008 and 2009), the Board agreed that the ISTS President will establish a Committee, as authorized in Article II of the By-Laws, to implement an awards scheme. The panel in 2008 consisted of Raquel Briseno, Kama Dean and Brendan Godley. Awards were presented by the ISTS President, Wallace J. Nichols at the Symposium Banquet in Loreto, 25th January 2008 where testimonies were given; I draw from these to summarise some of the key achievements of each awardee.

Lifetime Achievement

Two candidates selected for life-time achievement awards are among the greatest leaders of our movement.

Colin Limpus has, from his Queensland base, provided sea turtle conservation leadership on an international scale. With vast experience spanning much of the earth, especially covering the Pacific and Indian Oceans, he has trained and inspired a generation of Australian turtle biologists and facilitated the work of dozens of other scientists world-wide. His integrated work plan over several decades is specifically carried out in a way that maximises impact on sea turtle conservation strategies.

Nicholas Mrosovsky is recognized for his work spanning four decades in sea turtle research including the first documentation of TSD in sea turtles, pioneering work in hatchling orientation, and more recently, major insights into nest site selection. In terms of conservation, he is best known for founding the Marine Turtle Newsletter, being an original member and one-time co-chair of the MTSG, writing several books that critically reflect on various aspects of sea turtle conservation, and asking challenging questions about our rationale and the methods we use.

Sea Turtle Champion Award

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation was recognized for their sustained giving to sea turtle projects; this support has been particularly important in NW Mexico and the ETP.

It was felt that Seaturtle.org and its founder Michael Coyne must be recognised for the tireless work building tools, helping us communicate and advancing research that spans the world oceans and impacts all ISTS members, often in many different spheres of activity.

President’s Award

Grupo Tortuguero, a grassroots, fishermen-led network celebrating its tenth anniversary was given the 2008 President’s award as a model of what can be accomplished when those who interact daily with sea turtles are given the reins and leadership. The award was presented to the three past/present coordinators: Javier Villavicencio, Rodrigo Rangel and Jesus Lucero.

We congratulate the awardees and thank them for their outstanding contributions. We look forward to honouring more colleagues in Brisbane, 2009.

Moving Forward

To move towards widening participation in the awards process, a concept note (extracted below) was agreed by the board and was placed before the membership for comment and sanction at Loreto. Relevant amendments were made to the ISTS By-laws and Constitution to allow this to proceed and were voted on by the membership at the 28th Symposium’s Plenary Session . A full awards committee will be assembled in 2009 according to the procedures detailed below:

ISTS Awards

Three categories of award will be presented annually. The first two will be nominated from the membership.
ISTS Life-time Achievement Award An annual award honouring an individual(s) who have had a significant impact on sea turtle biology and conservation through the course of their career.
ISTS Champions Awards (typically 3) will be presented annually to individuals or communities, governmental or non-governmental organisations that have, in the recent past, carried out outstanding work towards the effective conservation of sea turtles.
ISTS President’s Award An annual award will be made by the President to an individual or community, governmental or non-governmental organisation that has made an outstanding achievement to further the mission of the ISTS.

ISTS Awards Committee

In the first instance, an ISTS awards committee of 5 ISTS members will be assembled, with tenure of 3, 3, 3, 2, 2 years, respectively. Thereafter all subsequent members will have tenure of 3 years. The Awards Committee will consist of individuals nominated by the membership according to the standard Nominations Process. Candidates will be elected by membership vote per ISTS elections.
This panel will:
1. rank and assess the nominations, where necessary seek independent referees reports
2. keep details of all nominations in each year to facilitate ongoing institutional memory
3. make decisions through a transparent process on awardees
4. produce a report to the Board of Directors at least two months prior to the Symposium.
To facilitate effective communication with the ISTS Board, one ISTS Board Member will serve on the committee as an additional non-voting member.

Nominations Process

Nominations will come from the membership in a process akin to the ISTS Nominations Process using an online form (based on a model used by the Society of Conservation Biology). Nominations will not be posted online and will remain confidential for the eyes of the Awards Committee only.