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Marine Turtle Newsletter 61:30, © 1993

Earthtrust's Sea Turtle Preservation Initiative

Jim Logan
Earthtrust, Aikahi Park-Garden Court
25 Kaneohe Bay Drive, Suite 205, Kailua, Hawaii 96734 USA

Earthtrust is an international non-governmental organization dedicated to wildlife conservation. Working cooperatively with individuals and groups concentrating on sea turtle conservation, Earthtrust is gathering information and documenting the exploitation of sea turtles in Asia, supporting the Costa Rican Government in their efforts to protect critical leatherback sea turtle nesting beaches, producing educational materials for the general public and tourist industry in Hawaii, and promoting conservation and research efforts aimed at identifying the cause of fibropapilloma disease in green sea turtles.

One of the primary objectives of the Sea Turtle Preservation Initiative is to assist other sea turtle conservation groups in their campaigns by providing broadcast quality public service announcements, briefing videos, and documentary productions as funds become available. The Earthtrust video department is capable of producing video materials at a fraction of normal production costs by using existing footage, Earthtrust equipment, and expert staff. Individuals, non-profit organizations, and educators that have a need for these types of materials should submit basic project descriptions to Jim Logan (address above).

Earthtrust and the Honu Project have completed production of a 45 minute educational documentary profiling the plight of Hawaii's green sea turtles, entitled "Fall of the Ancients, Hawaii's Green Turtles in Crisis". The focus of this documentary is the alarming increase in cases of fibropapilloma disease in the green turtles in Hawaii and Florida, and the research being done by George Balazs (National Marine Fisheries Service, Honolulu Lab) and other biologists and scientists as they attempt to determine the cause and find solutions to this epidemic. Funding for the production of this video was provided by 'Olelo, The Corporation for Community Broadcasting; the video has aired repeatedly in Hawaii on the Public Access Station.

Earthtrust and the Honu Project hope to introduce the problem of fibropapilloma and other threats to the survival of Hawaii's sea turtles to the general public, thereby generating public concern and support for sea turtle conservation efforts and research in Hawaii. In addition to providing information about fibropapilloma, the show also highlights other problems facing sea turtles including pollution, coral reef destruction, and poaching, and profiles some of the educational and conservation programs in Hawaii. Visually stunning, the underwater video of sea turtles being cleaned of parasites by colorful tropical fish and resting in their natural habitat was donated by local photographers. Copies of this video are available for educational and informational use from Earthtrust at the address above (US$ 9.95 plus $2.50 for shipping).