Reflections on My WIDECAST Experience
- Veta Wade
- Apr 5
- 4 min read
March 14th - 19th, I attended the WIDECAST (Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network) annual General Meeting (AGM), in St. Kitts and Nevis. The meeting gathered 80 participants from 26 island nations in the Caribbean, extending from Bermuda to Brazil. WIDECAST is a regional network dedicated to the conservation of sea turtles and their habitats in the Caribbean and the Western Atlantic. Grenadian Turtle and Wildlife Vet, Dr. Kenrith Carter said it best, " The WIDECAST family is united not only ny shared challenges in sea turtle conservation, but also by the fact that some countries share the same individual turtles." The meeting also featured researchers from Australia and the Netherlands.
The main objective of the annual WIDECAST meeting is to promote knowledge exchange about conservation actions being carried out in the region, as well as to present results from specific research on marine turtles.
During the sessions, participants discussed the progress of various action plans, addressing relevant topics such as climate change, incidental turtle catch, and the "Blue Corridors" project, an initiative by WWF in partnership with other conservation institutions. The Blue Corridor project which aims to create a global overview of all migratory corridors based on (initially) all existing satellite tracking data.
Neca Marcovaldi, the Conservation and Research Director of the Tamar Project Foundation, gave a lecture titled "Marine Turtles Are Worth More Alive than Dead," which explored the social inclusion and sustainability actions promoted by the organization. Neca also serves as the WIDECAST coordinator in Brazil. I was totally inspired by this, and long after I'm gone in the world I hope this could be the legacy of Fish 'N Fins.
Reflections
Attending the recent WIDECAST meeting was a nourishing experience. I appreciated meeting smart, funny, kind people from the Caribbean doing similar work all so generous with their knowledge. A big thank you to the New England Aquarium's Marine Conservation Action Fund for making my trip possible and to WIDECAST Executive Director, Dr. Kimberly Stewart for inviting me.
One of the standout presentations came from Bermuda, where Dr. Gaëlle Roth highlighted the concerning decline of foraging grounds and its direct impact on turtle health. Their case was particularly interesting as the contrast highlighted to me the overall health of Montserrat’s endangered turtles so far healthy and thriving. This motivates me to want to support in keeping it that way. Our well-grazed, albeit invasive seagrass ( we lost majority of our native seagrass in the height of the volcanic activity of the 90's ), 'Halophila stipulacea,' appears to be serving our green turtles; well, atleast for now. Close and continuous monitoitoring is recommended. I look forward to following Bermuda's effort to address this problem.
During the meeting, I connected with Shannon Gore from the British Virgin Islands. We discussed the potential for environmental work in Montserrat and her consultancies related to Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) on the island. I expect we will continue talking and sharing insights on Montserrat's sustainable development, over the coming months.
Roundtables
Seagrass Discussion
While I wasn’t directly involved in the seagrass discussion, it’s a topic that has definitely caught my attention and should be on everyone’s radar. Representatives from Curacao, Bonaire, St. Eustatius, Bermuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Martin shared valuable observations regarding seagrass conservation, emphasizing its critical role in the health of sea turtle populations.
Key points from the seagrass roundtable included:
The concerning disappearance of native seagrass species and the need to investigate potential causes such as climate change, pollution, and development.
The importance of understanding the balance between undergrazing and overgrazing and its implications for turtle health.
A call for standardized habitat assessments to evaluate seagrass beds and their conditions, as well as the need for literature studies and possible collaboration with institutions for analysis.
Blue Tourism
Mr. Lamuel Pemberton, a renowned Nevisian sea turtle expert and I brainstormed blue tourism opportunities around possible inter-island sea turtle experiences. Our discussions included:
Paid talks to hotels
Podcasts targeted to adventure companies
In-water tours in St. Kitts where visitors stay on shore and wait for a turtle to be caught and tagged
A Montserrat package that includes refresher snorkeling, species identification, survey techniques, a certificate of participation, and a video.
I believe that these discussions highlight a significant area for future exploration and collaboration in our conservation efforts.
Short Films for Movie Night
I discovered some fantastic videos that capture the essence of our discussions and the challenges in turtle conservation we face. I'm looking forward to hosting a community movie night at The Fish 'N Fins Clubhouse soon.
Training Opportunities
Training opportunities that arose from this experience included the Barbados Sea Turtle Project’s Monitoring Program, which is set to enhance our collective efforts in conservation. The Barbados Sea Turtle Project serves as the focal point for WIDECAST in Barbados, offering regional training workshops, maintaining a regional marine turtle tagging centre, and encouraging research and conservation in countries that share management responsibilities for our migratory sea turtle populations
Additionally, the Bermuda Turtle Project offers its 28th in-water course on the Biology and Conservation of Marine Turtles this August, presenting an exciting opportunity for further learning and collaboration for our team at Fish 'N Fins Inc.
There is a wealth of potential collaborations on the horizon to develop technical capacity in our community for sea turtle work this year. I left the meeting feeling inspired and motivated to continue our vital work in conservation.
It was also a joy to reconnect and collaborate with the Haïti Ocean Project, my MCAF family, and close colleagues. If you haven't followed them yet, I highly recommend it. Keep an eye on MCAF Fellow Francklin Berber; he is certainly one to watch!
This meeting not only reinforced our shared commitment to protecting marine turtles and their habitats, but highlighted the power of geniuine inter-regional collaboration and support! As a regionalist this is a big deal to me.
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