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Following ten years of successfully saving sea turtles throughout Northwest Mexico, the Grupo Tortuguero kicked off a new decade of conservation at its 11th Annual Meeting in Loreto this past weekend. Close to 300 community representatives from around the Baja California peninsula and Mexico came together to share their experiences saving sea turtles throughout the region. Fishermen presented on their sea turtle monitoring efforts, students shared their environmental education projects, and local government officials talked about their efforts at protection and enforcement.

This meeting was particularly exciting, as it is the first the group has organized as an independent Mexican non-profit organization. In 1999 a loosely connected band of fishermen, scientists, conservationists and coastal residents working to save sea turtles came together to form the grassroots sea turtle conservation network, the Grupo Tortuguero. They had a shared, singular vision: Restore the sea turtle populations of the Californias. The movement grew quickly due to a unique combination of its open and inviting disposition, the urgency and clarity of the cause and the camaraderie felt by all who joined.

For the past five years Pro Peninsula has worked to strengthen this network, planning annual meetings, coordinating the sea turtle monitoring communities, and spreading the word of conservation throughout the region. Now, capitalizing on the Grupo Tortuguero’s ten years of successful conservation work, we are entering a new decade of sea turtle conservation in Mexico with a newly formed non-profit and new leadership within the organization. This meeting brought together network members old and new to celebrate this transition and bring in the new era with a bang!

This meeting would not be possible without the help of a vast collection of sponsors who come together each year to support the Grupo Tortuguero and this amazing meeting. Their ongoing support has brought us through the past ten years and is now helping us welcome in a new decade of sea turtle conservation. We thank you for uniting with us in this new decade! Sponsors for the 11th Annual Meeting of the Grupo Tortuguero include: Underwater Images, Tony and Linda Kinninger, Asupmatoma, Conservation International, Eco-Alianza de Loreto, Alan Harper and the JiJi Foundation, International Community Foundation, Charles and Kathy Mitchell, the Pesenti Family, Smart Marketing, Glenn and Martha Thompson, Wildlife Trust, Barbara Andrews, Baja Books and Maps, Fernando Bretos, John and Gayle Dean, Fishermen’s Fleet and Jaime Lawson, Journey Mexico, Nicole Mihnovets, Deborah Purce, Kelly Stewart, Colette Wabnitz, BajaPhotos.com, Heather Glass, Baja Ferries, Zander Srodes, Jay and Diane Speakman, and Art Design.