Sea Turtle Restoration Project

STRP began the Save the Leatherback Program in 2000 when a scientific article published in Nature magazine stated that the Pacific leatherback sea turtle could become extinct within 10–30 years if its adult mortality was not drastically reduced.[3] Industrialized fishing practices, particularly longlining and drift gillnetting, used to catch swordfish, shark, and tuna, were cited as causing the most adult leatherback mortality. In response, STRP convened the International Leatherback Survival Conference in April 2002. The outcome was a call by leading sea turtle and marine scientists for a moratorium on Pacific longlining and drift gillnetting. In the next few years STRP organized over 1,000 scientists from 97 countries and 280 NGOs to sign a petition to the United Nations seeking a moratorium on high seas industrial longline fishing to prevent the extinction of the Pacific leatherback sea turtle.[4] In 2004 the documentary Last Journey for the Leatherback? was released, which depicts the plight of the Pacific leatherback sea turtle.

STRP's American Pacific sea turtle campaign began in 2001 when their legal action forced a seasonal closure of the California/Oregon drift gillnet fishery to protect endangered sea turtles and other marine species. In 2006 STRP and a coalition of environmental organizations prevented efforts by the Pacific Fisheries Management Council (PFMC) to reopen the seasonal closure to drift gillnet fishing. STRP is currently working to prevent the development of a pelagic longline fishery within the California Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) where it has been banned for 30 years to protect various marine species.[5]

In August 2002 STRP merged with the Texas-based Help Endangered Animals – Ridley Turtles (HEART) organization and opened its Gulf of Mexico office.[6] The focus of this program is protecting the habitat of the critically endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtle through the enforcement of turtle excluder devices (TEDs) in shrimp nets and the development of a Kemp's ridley marine reserve that is off limits to commercial fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. In 2008 a record-breaking season occurred with 148 Kemp's ridley nests found along the Texas coast, which was more than double the figure found in 2005.[7]

Since 1989, STRP has been working directly in Central America with coastal communities in an effort to protect sea turtles. Along with its sister organization PRETOMA which is based in Costa Rica, STRP is focused on decreasing the threats to sea turtles in Central America that include development of nesting sites, killing of breeding females, illegal poaching of eggs, and the incidental capture of sea turtles by industrial fishing fleets.[8]

STRP's Western Pacific program began in 2006 and is based on the island of Papua New Guinea. STRP partners with coastal communities to protect and restore the declining leatherback turtle population and habitat by helping to establish conservation deeds in important nesting beaches and marine waters.[9]

In 2002 STRP began its Got Mercury? program to educate the public about mercury levels in seafood and to take action to reduce the public's exposure to methylmercury in seafood.[10] Got Mercury? has tested mercury levels in fish found in sushi restaurants and found high levels of mercury in tuna[11] Volunteers monitor restaurants and supermarkets to make sure they are in compliance with California's Proposition 65 law. Proposition 65 requires the posting of mercury in seafood consumer advisory warnings by seafood purveyors.[12] Got Mercury? developed a free online mercury in seafood calculator that allows individuals to use the Environmental Protection Agency's calculations to estimate average mercury exposure levels by fish type and amount relative to a person's weight.[11]