In this edition...

• November 6th – Sea Turtles and Art Meet!
• This November… Take the Trip of a Lifetime – Spaces are limited!!
• Ban the Bag: Say Goodbye to Plastic!
• Countdown to Liberation...
• Go see Battle in Seattle and take action to save sea turtles and our environment: www.5actions.com

Art and turtles come together for an evening of education and beauty as we explore our oceans and the state of one of its most enigmatic mega fauna, the sea turtle. Pro Peninsula is holding its first of a series of Speaker Events geared for members and non-members alike to come learn more about the oceans, life within and what you can do to help.

Dr. Jeffrey Seminoff speaking at Pro Peninsula’s 2nd Annual Summer Lunada, July 2008

EVENT:	Sea Turtles and Art Meet!
DATE:	Thursday, November 6th
TIME:	6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
LOCATION:	Bamboo Lounge 1475 University Ave. San Diego, CA 92103
OTHER:	Light refreshments will be served Gallery viewing
COST:	FREE… and please bring a friend! RSVPs appreciated...please email trisha@propeninsula.org
TOPIC:	Sea Turtles of California, USA: Conservation Challenges and Signs of Success
PRESENTER:	Dr. Jeffrey Seminoff Leader of NOAA's Marine Turtle Ecology and Assessment Program and Pro Peninsula Board Member
SUMMARY:	The US West Coast, California in particular, is a poorly known, but vital area for sea turtles. There are three species, including leatherbacks, loggerheads, and green turtles in the region, occupying coastal and open ocean habitats and eating everything from sea grass to sea jellies. Although there have been a number of management challenges for protecting these local populations, a mosaic of research and conservation initiatives has lead to new insights about the unique ecology of sea turtles, and has provided an example of why researchers, conservationists and legislators must work together. Please join Dr. Jeffrey Seminoff, head of NOAA's Marine Turtle Ecology and Assessment Program and Pro Peninsula Board Member, as he describes the many facets of sea turtle research and conservation along the US West Coast. His presentation will emphasize the importance of California for our world's sea turtles and he will highlight how research findings are integrated directly into ongoing conservation and legislation initiatives.

We hope to see old friends and meet new ones! And, although not required, an RSVP would be appreciated. Please email trisha@propeninsula.org or call Trisha at 619.574.6643.
Thank you and we hope to see you on Thursday, November 6th!

Participate in sea turtle monitoring and experience conservation first hand!

This November, take the trip of a lifetime and experience the wonders of the Sea of Cortez and Baja California’s Pacific coast, all while supporting local sea turtle conservation. Pro Peninsula, in partnership with Baja Expeditions, SEE (Sea Turtle Ecological Expeditions), the Grupo Tortuguero and Magdalena Baykeeper, invites you to live the conservation experience, with a chance to kayak the waters of Espiritu Santo Island, explore the wonders of Magdalena Bay and participate hands on in a black sea turtle monitoring. This unique expedition allows you to participate directly in Pro Peninsula's Conservation Tourism program, which conducts ecotourism training for local fishermen, providing a desperately needed alternative to fishing.

Mention Pro Peninsula and receive 10% off the trip price!

For more information, download the trip details here or call Baja Expeditions at (800) 843-6967 to speak with a trip advisor. Then pack your bags for an adventure in conservation!

In order to conserve our natural resources and prevent pollution of our communities, coasts and oceans many cities have begun to implement programs to decrease consumer dependence on plastic and paper bags. In order to help San Diego consumers lessen their impact, Pro Peninsula co-director, Kama Dean, joined a group of speakers organized by San Diego Coastkeeper in favor of a city ordinance that would ban plastic bags and tax paper bags within the city of San Diego. Presenting to the Natural Resources and Culture Committee of the City Council, Kama focused on the harm plastic bags present to sea turtles and other marine life off San Diego’s coasts. Regarding the potential ban, Kama commented, “It is important that we work to decrease our consumption of both plastic and paper products through the use of reusable bags, not only for pollution’s sake but marine life as well; sea turtles often mistake plastic bags for jelly fish, one of their food sources. A ban on plastic bags, coupled with a charge for paper bags and education programs for consumers, as San Diego Coastkeeper is proposing, is our best option."

Ditch the plastic and go for canvas!

FACT:
Shoppers worldwide are using 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags per year. This translates to about a million bags every minute across the globe. Plastic bags take 20 to 1000 years to break down, are made from petroleum, a nonrenewable resource, and they are very harmful to marine animals that ingest them.
Click here to learn more facts about plastics and their harmful effects on the environment. Statistics thanks to www.sdcoastkeeper.org.

Thanks to this effort by San Diego Coastkeeper, the council has asked the city attorney to draft an ordinance to bring before the council for a vote. We will keep you posted as this moves forward! Until then, use your canvas bags and visit San Diego Coastkeeper at www.sdcoastkeeper.org for more information!

Hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricate) in the eastern Pacific Ocean are one of the most endangered populations of sea turtle on the planet. In late 2007, the Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Project or ‘Proyecto ¡CAREY!’ began the first ever directed effort to study and conserve the population by conducting a trip around the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez), Mexico, visiting every coastal community and fish camp along the way to gain information on the presence of hawksbill turtles in the region. During their journey they visited Puerto Peñasco, in the state of Sonora, and found an aquarium with an adult hawksbill turtle on exhibit that had been incidentally caught by local fishermen and turned over to the aquarium 8 years earlier, where it has remained in captivity ever since. While during their field monitoring activities since that time Proyecto ¡CAREY! has encountered juvenile hawksbills on several occasions, they have yet to encounter an adult of the species, which according to local fishermen are next to impossible to find.

To this day scientists have not been able to identify nesting sites along Pacific Mexico where adult hawksbills aggregate and from where the juveniles in the Gulf of California might be originating. Proyecto ¡CAREY! staff realized the opportunity to attach a satellite transmitter to the adult female hawksbill in Puerto Peñasco and release her to the ocean would provide unique information by allowing scientists to follow her course and in the best case scenario, follow her to a nesting beach.

In a huge step for the investigation and conservation of the population, CETMAR (Center for Technical Studies of the Ocean) #14 of Sonora, who manage the aquarium where the hawksbill is being held, agreed to collaborate with Proyecto ¡CAREY! and allow staff to apply a satellite transmitter and release the hawksbill. This will be the first adult hawksbill ever tracked on the Pacific Coast of Mexico and the turtle will be tagged and release during a historic event scheduled for the 24th of October 2008. The event will be held at the CETMAR installations in Puerto Peñasco and will involve the participation of students, sea turtle scientists and representatives of the government. Proyecto ¡CAREY! staff also encourage the participation of anyone interested in being a part of this historic event. Contact Alexander Gaos at gaos@propeninsula.org for more information.