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The aim of this year’s meeting was to discuss new perspectives and priorities in the study and mitigation of threats toward marine turtle populations (Hamann et al. 2010; Rees et al. 2016), with special emphasis on the Latin American region. The meeting was comprised of four formal presentations and two open discussions (Marine Turtle Bycatch and Illegal Trade of Marine Turtles). Presenters and Retomala’s organizers lead the discussion about their distinctive topics with active participation from all of the attendees (Table 1).

Table 1. Twenty-third RETOMALA “Reunión de Especialistas Latinoamericanos en Tortugas Marinas” (Latin American Sea Turtle Specialists Annual meeting) Program. * Formal talks; (S) = Spanish; (P) = Portuguese.

The four formal talks were given by Bryan Wallace (RMU’s listing process), Jose Luis Crespo (decompression sickness syndrome), Mariana Fuentes (climate change impacts to marine turtles and coastal development) and Gustave Lopez (ports and marine turtles).

Formal talk 1. Bryan Wallace (Conservation Science Partners, Inc., and the Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University) gave a presentation on the Regional Management Units framework (Wallace et al. 2010), the assessment of the Red List categories, and its impact in the decision-making process in Latin America. Wallace explained the necessity of increasing evaluations at the regional level, while also acknowledging the gaps in the information for some specific cases. However, during the plenary discussion, the assembly recognized the importance of this evaluation and our role as researchers, conservationists, and stakeholders in the construction of a better assessment. Finally, Wallace recommended including the available ‘grey literature’ (i.e., thesis manuscripts, national reports, and local databases) in conjunction with the academic literature in order to update further RMU assessments. Further details are also found in Wallace et al. (2011).

Panel Discussion: Marine Turtles Bycatch. Maike Heidemeyer (Universidad de Costa Rica: RITMA, CIBCM, CIMAR) began this panel with a presentation of her bycatch data from Costa Rica and other regions in Central America. Heidemeyer identified the most critical areas of marine turtle bycatch from her research (at both the national and regional level). Additionally, she discussed the efforts of several local and national NGOs with local communities in the Pacific coastal area. She concluded with a recommendation to improve our research network to share more insights for future evaluations.

This was followed by a talk by Bruno Giffoni (Projeto TAMAR) on a new assessment to evaluate longline fisheries in Brazil, and how this assessment is helping management decisions and research (Fiedler et al. 2016; Sales et al. 2010). Next, Félix Moncada (Centro de Investigaciones Pesqueras de Cuba), presented a brief outcome report on fisheries evaluations that are being carried out in Cuba. Moncada emphasized that all of the data he presented was part of a national program with several stakeholders involved. He stated that the evaluated industrial fisheries are not commercially using marine turtles in Cuban waters. However, he recognized that this practice may still occur at the artisanal level on the island.

To conclude the panel, the second formal talk was given by Jose Luis Crespo (Fundación Oceanogràfic) on decompression sickness syndrome. Crespo talked about how to assess turtles that may be affected by this syndrome, and he presented interesting evaluations and images of novel detection and rehabilitation techniques to aid in the recovery of animals affected by decompression sickness. More detailed recommendations are online in Fahlman et al. (2017). During the question-answer period, Crespo reaffirmed his willingness to help future projects on the diagnosis of this syndrome and offered his personal email to contact potential projects and collaborations (Crespo’s email: jlcrespo@oceanografic.org).

Panel discussion: Illegal trade of marine turtles. This panel discussion consisted of three formal talks, and it concluded with a vigorous discussion among the panelists and the attendees. The first talk was given by Brad Nahill (SEETURTLES and ‘Too rare to wear’). He showed the preliminary results from field surveys, interviews, and questionnaires performed in several Latin American countries. These focused on the sale, traffic, and commercialization of tortoiseshell (bekko or in Spanish ‘carey’) products. During his presentation, he highlighted Nicaragua and Costa Rica because of the persistent, active, public, and unregulated sale of tortoiseshell products. Nahill’s presentation also mentioned several other countries with active illegal markets.

This was followed by a talk by Karla Barrientos and Cristian Ramírez Gallego (Fundación Tortugas del Mar) titled “Use of tortoiseshell in Colombia.” Barrientos and Ramirez explained the current legal framework that protects hawksbill and other species of marine turtles in Colombia. They explained their inter-institutional assessment in local markets in the city of Cartagena de Indias, and discussed their most important findings (places, prices, local efforts, and improved enforcement).

Finally, Héctor Barrios-Garrido (James Cook University, and University of Zulia) presented one chapter of his PhD thesis about the trade (illegal traffic, commercial and non-commercial use) of marine turtles in the Venezuelan Guajira. Barrios-Garrido emphasized the presence of at least four species of marine turtle involved in the trade, the products that are exchanged among the local Wayuu inhabitants, the routes of the traffic, and the location of the markets where these products are sold (in Colombia and Venezuela). He mentioned the importance of the indigenous group Wayuu’s cultural values related to marine turtles, and the necessity of an evaluation of the current legal framework in Venezuela in order to have more effective protection of marine turtles. This presentation was based on his publication (Barrios-Garrido et al. 2017).

Several participants discussed how their conservation projects are impacted this issue. Some of them reported similar scenarios and outcomes to the ones presented by the speakers, especially in Central America (i.e., the Panama-Colombia-Venezuela potential corridor, affecting Nicaragua, Panama, and the Southern Caribbean). After the discussion, some of attendees discussed the possibility of connections among these markets.

Formal talk 3. After the tea-break, Mariana Fuentes (Florida State University) talked about climate change and its effects on marine turtle populations (Fuentes et al. 2011; Fuentes et al. 2012), with special emphasis on the Brazilian populations where currently she is conducting research. During her presentation, Fuentes stressed the possible future scenarios in marine environments and the challenges as a result of these changes. She offered her assistance in advising conservation programs on how to evaluate, quantify, and assess related problems at the local level in order to share results and improve evaluation at the global scale.

Formal talk 4. Finally, Gustave Lopez (Instituto de Biologia - Universidade Federal da Bahia – UFBA, Brazil) provided insight on the experience and the impact of evaluations in several areas of Brazil. His presentation was titled “Coastal development, ports, and marine turtles,” and he mainly stressed the importance of this kind of evaluation, especially because this issue is included in the framework used to evaluate the status of the RMUs worldwide (Wallace et al. 2010). His presentation concluded with discussing the necessity of a standardization of all the methods and protocols used to evaluate these issues.

Acknowledgments. Thanks to all attendees and presenters, for their support, ideas, comments, and contributions towards better outcomes. Also, thanks to the ISTS organizers, especially Dr. Frank Paladino (ISTS President - 2017). We thank Chloe Nash (University of Chicago) for her help in improving the English of this manuscript. The authors thank the travel grants received by the ISTS, and all its donors.

BARRIOS-GARRIDO, H., N. ESPINOZA-RODRÍGUEZ, D. ROJAS-CAÑIZALES, J. PALMAR, N. WILDERMANN, M. MONTIEL-VILLALOBOS & M. HAMANN. 2017. Trade of marine turtles along the Southwestern Coast of the Gulf of Venezuela. Marine Biodiversity Records 10: 1-12.

FAHLMAN, A., J.L. CRESPO-PICAZO, B. STERBA-BOATWRIGHT, B.A. STACY & D. GARCIA-PARRAGA. 2017. Defining risk variables causing gas embolism in loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) caught in trawls and gillnets. Scientific Reports 7: 2736.

FIEDLER, F.N., G. SALES, B.B. GIFFONI, L.R. MAÇANEIRO, M. DE KARAM, C.J. NASCIMENTO, D. PORT, A.S. BARRETO & P.R. SCHWINGEL. 2016. Characterization and comparison of Brazilian and foreign leased pelagic longline fleets in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean between 2003 and 2014. How different are these fisheries? Revista CEPSUL-Biodiversidade e Conservação Marinha 5: 1-16.

FUENTES, M.M.P.B., M.R. FISH & J.A. MAYNARD. 2012. Management strategies to mitigate the impacts of climate change on sea turtle’s terrestrial reproductive phase. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 17: 51-63.

FUENTES, M.M.P.B., C.J. LIMPUS & M. HAMANN. 2011. Vulnerability of sea turtle nesting grounds to climate change. Global Change Biology 17: 140-153.

HAMANN, M., M.H. GODFREY, J.A. SEMINOFF, K. ARTHUR, P.C.R. BARATA, K.A. BJORNDAL, A.B. BOLTEN, A.C. BRODERICK, L.M CAMPBELL, C. CARRERAS, P. CASALE, M. CHALOUPKA, S.K.F. CHAN, M.S. COYNE, L.B. CROWDER, C.E. DIEZ, P.H. DUTTON, S.P. EPPERLY, N.N. FITZSIMMONS, A. FORMIA, M. GIRONDOT, G.C. HAYS, I.J. CHENG, Y. KASKA, R. LEWINSON, J.A. MORTIMER, W.J. NICHOLS, R.D. REINA, K. SHANKER, J.R. SPOTILA, J. TOMAS, B.P. WALLACE, T.M. WORK, J. ZBINDEN & B.J. GODLEY. 2010. Global research priorities for sea turtles: informing management and conservation in the 21st century. Endangered Species Research 11: 245-269.

REES, A.F., J. ALFARO-SHIGUETO, P.C.R. BARATA, K.A. BJORNDAL, A.B. BOLTEN, J. BOURJEA, A.C. BRODERICK, L.M. CAMPBELL, L. CARDONA, C. CARRERAS, P. CASALE, S.A. CERIANI, P.H. DUTTON, T. EGUCHI, A. FORMIA, M.M.P.B. FUENTES, W.J. FULLER, M. GIRONDOT, M.H. GODFREY, M. HAMANN, K.M. HART, G.C. HAYS, S. HOCHSCHEID, Y. KASKA, M.P. JENSEN, J.C. MANGEL, J.A. MORTIMER, E. NARO-MACIEL, C.K.Y. NG, W.J. NICHOLS, A.D. PHILLOTT, R.D. REINA, O. REVUELTA, G. SCHOFIELD, J.A. SEMINOFF, K. SHANKER, J. TOMAS, J.P. VAN DE MERWE, K.S. VAN HOUTAN, H.B VANDER ZANDEN, B.P. WALLACE, K.R. WEDEMEYER-STROMBEL, T.M. WORK & B.J. GODLEY. 2016. Are we working towards global research priorities for management and conservation of sea turtles? Endangered Species Research 31: 337-382.

SALES, G., B.B. GIFFONI, F.N. FIEDLER, V.G. AZEVEDO, J.E. KOTAS, Y. SWIMMER & L. BUGONI. 2010. Circle hook effectiveness for the mitigation of sea turtle bycatch and capture of target species in a Brazilian pelagic longline fishery. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 20: 428-436.

WALLACE, B.P., K.A. BJORNDAL, J. BOURJEA, B.W. BOWEN, R. BRISEÑO DUEÑAS, P. CASALE, B.C. CHOUDHURY, A. COSTA, P.H. DUTTON, A. FALLABRINO, E.M. FINKBEINER, A.D. DIMATTEO, A. GIRARD, M. GIRONDOT, M. HAMANN, B.J. HURLEY, M. LÓPEZ-MENDILAHARSU, M.A. MARCOVALDI, J.A. MUSICK, R. NEL, N.J. PILCHER, S. TROËNG, A.B. BOLTEN, B. WITHERINGTON, R.B. MAST, M.Y. CHALOUPKA, B.J. HUTCHINSON, F.A. ABREU-GROBOIS, J.A. MORTIMER, J.A. SEMINOFF, D. AMOROCHO & R.B. MAST. 2011. Global conservation priorities for marine turtles. PloS ONE 6: e24510.

WALLACE, B.P., A.D. DIMATTEO, B.J. HURLEY, E.M. FINKBEINER, A.B. BOLTEN, M.Y. CHALOUPKA, B.J. HUTCHINSON, F.A. ABREU-GROBOIS, D. AMOROCHO, K.A. BJORNDAL, J. BOURJEA, B.W. BOWEN, R.B. DUEÑAS, P. CASALE, B.C. CHOUDHURY, A. COSTA, P.H. DUTTON, A. FALLABRINO, A. GIRARD, M. GIRONDOT, M.H. GODFREY, M. HAMANN, M. LÓPEZ-MENDILAHARSU, M.A. MARCOVALDI, J.A. MORTIMER, J.A. MUSICK, R. NEL, N.J. PILCHER, J.A. SEMINOFF, S. TROËNG, B. WITHERINGTON & R.B. MAST. 2010. Regional Management Units for marine turtles: a novel framework for prioritizing conservation and research across multiple scales. PloS ONE 5: e15465.