Wildlife Conservation Curaçao Project #29101

Help Protect Endangered Sea Turtles in Curacao

by Friends of Sea Turtle Conservation Curacao

Project Report | Mar 25, 2024
Low season and start of nesting season 2024

By Fedde Burgers | chairman of the board of STCC

Fundraising rock concert

The period January-March is called low season within our organization. There is no nesting activity. That doesn't mean nothing happens, we had a fundraising rock concert and less happy news: we had quite some rescues to do. Now preparations for the nesting season 2024 start with volunteer trainings. Our field coordinator attended the WIDECAST conference in Costa Rica.

Fundraising event: Turtle Rock

We organized a rock concert to raise money for our organization. 3 bands played, visitors could buy raffle tickets and we auctioned art and other pieces. Of course we also told the audience about our organization and our work. The whole evening was both great fun and we raised a substantial amount of money to help more turtles around Curacao.

Rescues

We get a ot of reports on turtles with a fish hook in their mouth or flipper. The good news is that people know to report to us and we are able to help the turtles quickly. Most of the times we can find the turtle and remove the hook at the beach ourselves. Sometimes we bring the turtle to the vet. In most cases the turtle can be released the same day. The bad news is it happens over and over again.

WIDECAST conference

The Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST) organized their annual meeting in Costa Rica this month. Our field coordinator Ard Vreugdenhil attended and presented about Fibropapillomatosis (FP) around Curacao. We value these annual meetings to learn from each other, align on best practices and tighten collaboration.

Start of the new nesting season

Now the focus is full on the coming nesting season. All new and existing volunteers will attend training sessions the coming time. They will learn all about the turtle species around Curacao, turtle handling, nest monitoring, rescues and crowd control. This year in addition to the basic training we add specialty trainings in hand catching, triangulation and nest activity recognition.

Rescue at Daaibooi beach

WIDECAST meeting in Costa Rica

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Nov 27, 2023
Nesting season almost over and Giving Tuesday!

By Fedde Burgers | Chairman of the board of STCC

Project FP turtle

Nesting season is almost over, so the less busy months are coming. The last period was still very busy though. Below a small summary of the activities that we have done, besides our regular monitoring. But first let us ask to donate and ask your family/friends to donate today on Giving Tuesday!

Giving Tuesday

You might know that we solely rely on donations to work on our mission. Not just the precious time our volunteers give us, we also need funds to do our work. We greatly appreciate any donation you may have given us. Today, this Giving Tuesday, November 28, we need your support more than ever.

So, we’re proud to be joining thousands of changemaking organizations on Nov. 28 for GivingTuesday! GivingTuesday is a global day of giving with the ultimate goal of building a more just and generous world.

The funds we raise on GivingTuesday will go to helping and treating sea turtles around Curaçao and do necessary research in order to protect them and their habitat. We’d love if you would consider supporting our mission & helping us raise funds.

Research in Fibropapillomatosis

As mentioned in an earlier report we are doing research in tumor growth on FP infected turtles in certain bays of Curacao. Last week Professor of Biology Manuela Tripepi of Jefferson University in Philadelphia was on the island again. Some of the project turtles were caught and measured again. And 1 of them now has a GPS tracker on his carapace to have a better understanding of their where-abouts.

Large training session at Ascension

Saturday 25th of November we had a large training session with our partners Citro, Coastguard, Uniek Curacao and Carmabi. Besides a netting session in which turtles are caught and measured, we trained our volunteers extra in crowdhandling, sargasso training (sargussum weed enters this bay twice a year. Turtles get trapped and have trouble to get air, so they need our help) and even a human rescue with a helicopter. The day was a success: it was very insightful for both us as our partners.

Monthly donations

STCC’s work is not possible without the support of people like you. That’s why I’m asking you to join our team as a monthly donor. We will not be able to rescue the endangered turtles around Curacao without your continued support.
When you commit to a monthly gift, GlobalGiving will match your fourth consecutive donation 100%! With your sustainable contribution, you’re helping us build a solid foundation that will grow our impact.
We’d love it if you join Sea Turtle Conservation Curacao as a monthly donor. If you become a sustained contributor today, GlobalGiving will match your first monthly contribution in March 2024.
Thank you so much for being a part of the STCC family.

Gratefully yours,
Fedde Burgers

Chairman of the board of STCC

Briefing training Ascension

Human rescue training Ascension

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Sep 20, 2023
Cleaning up the beaches of Curacao

By Fedde Burgers | Chairman of the board of STCC

Cleanup British Royal Navy

While sea turtle conservation is our primary focus, Sea Turtle Conservation Curacao (STCC) also regularly joins and supports beach cleanups on Curaçao. Our volunteers always pick up trash and plastic when possible, as this pollution can pose a serious threat to sea turtles. In the last weeks STCC organized/participated in the following cleanup activities:

British Royal navy
Fifty British sailors from the HMS Dauntless volunteered with STCC during a logistics stop on the Dutch island, helping clear more than 200kg of ocean plastic from a nesting beach and carrying out medical checks on the turtle population.

Curacao Clean Up

In the lead-up to the international cleanup day, World CleanUp Day, which takes place on Saturday, September 16, a cleanup took place on Klein Curaçao the weekend of September 9-10. For two days, a team of volunteers worked hard to remove the washed-up plastic, wood, and sargassum from the north side of the uninhabited island. These materials form obstacles on the beach for sea turtles that lay their eggs there, and in particular for their babies, who are unable to reach the sea as a result. The charter organizations Mermaid and Miss Ann sponsored the trip to and from Klein Curacao.

Also for World Cleanup Day, September 16, STCC participated in a cleanup initiated by Curacao Clean Up. Together with Curacao Clean Up, Rotary Club Willemstad, Limpi and Stichting Uniek Curacao (the organisation managing this bay) a lot of trash was picked up at Ascension bay. Many turtles live in this bay and unfortunately a lot of trash and plastic washes ashore here. It is great to see the difference between the before and after photos.

Cleanup Klein Curacao

Cleanup Ascension

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