Clients in the News: Ocean Discovery Institute
Ocean Discovery Institute Receives International Award for
Reducing Sea Turtle Bycatch
San Diego nonprofit is runner up for World Wildlife Fund's 2011
International Smart Gear Competition
SAN DIEGO –Ocean Discovery Institute, a science education organization that empowers youth from urban and diverse backgrounds to become tomorrow’s scientific leaders, has received Runner Up for the International Smart Gear 2011 Award from the World Wildlife Fund. This international award recognizes the achievements of their students, scientists, and fishermen in developing a strategy to reduce the incidental capture of sea turtles. This method has demonstrated high success and has the ability to be applied in fishing communities around the world.
The Smart Gear Competition aims to encourage institutions to design more environmentally friendly fishing gear that reduces the capture of unwanted marine life, typically termed bycatch. Winning entries from previous years have been gaining traction with fisheries all over the world, and some designs have even been made mandatory for fishers in certain waters.
Ocean Discovery Institute’s winning method, in partnership with Dr. John Wang and University of Hawaii, is an alteration to existing gillnets to reduce sea turtle bycatch. Coastal gillnet fisheries are one of the most common forms of fishing throughout the world, and are responsible for significant sea turtle bycatch rates because of their non-selective technology. Studies show that visual cues play an important role in sea turtle foraging, therefore Ocean Discovery Institute created a method of illuminating gillnets using widely available fishing lights, LED lights or chemical lightsticks, which can easily be added onto existing nets to deter sea turtles. This net illumination strategy can reduce sea turtle interaction with gillnets by as much as 60% without reducing target catch or catch value.
“Our research and conservation programs empower youth in our community to transform their lives and to make a difference in the world as scientific and environmental leaders,” said Shara Fisler, Ocean Discovery Institute founder and executive director. “I’m very proud that our students are receiving this recognition for their significant contributions to reduce bycatch.”
Several Ocean Discovery Institute staff, students and partners involved in the project will travel to Seattle November 17 to receive the award along with a $10,000 prize, which will be used to support their students, as they enter graduate school to study science and conservation.
About Ocean Discovery Institute
The mission of Ocean Discovery Institute (www.oceandiscoveryinstitute.org) is to engage, educate, and inspire youth from urban and diverse backgrounds through science-based exploration of the ocean and nature, preparing them to be tomorrow’s scientific and environmental leaders.Their vision is to empower youth from urban and diverse backgrounds to protect our ocean and natural environment, improve the health of our communities, and strengthen the quality of life in our world.
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