International Sea Turtle Conference

Aloha all,

Shannon attended a 3 day conference in Myrtle Beach, SC. Sea turtle biologists from all over the world flew in to discuss conservation issues on the earth's oldest living marine dinosaurs. Everyday, leatherbacks, hawksbills, greens, loggerheads, olive ridleys, kemp's ridleys, and flatbacks are killed due to entanglement in derelict nets, longline fishing, pollution, and consumption. Shannon went to this conference because her thesis will be on foraging ecology of the Hawaiian hawksbill turtles. Her data collection will start this summer. Along with workshops, there was a live auction (which by the way raised over $22,000 mostly for travel grants), banquet with a live band, and other social events. Shannon and Bill's old friend, Elise, got to do some country dancing! The next symposium (January 2008) will be in Baja, Mexico during gray whale season.