Sea turtle experts talk conservation

NEW ORLEANS — A week-long international sea turtle conference is gearing up in New Orleans.

Starting Monday, more than 600 experts from around the world will discuss research done as near as the Gulf of Mexico and as far as Tanzania at the International Sea Turtle Society’s 34th annual symposium on sea turtle biology and conservation.

“We have 73 countries so far represented,” including Australia, Bangladesh and Cape Verde, said Roldan Valverde, president of the society and a biology associate professor at Southeastern Louisiana University.

Hundreds of people were attending workshops this weekend on topics ranging from tracking turtles in the water to sea turtle veterinary techniques.

About 20 veterinarians, veterinary technicians and rescue workers were to attend fivehour workshops today at the Audubon Nature Institute’s Aquatic Center on New Orleans’ west bank — where hundreds of sea turtles were treated during the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill — and the surrounding Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species.

Compared to a century or two ago, sea turtle populations are very low, making them extremely vulnerable to environmental problems, Valverde said.

“If you think about the oil spill, for instance, you can bet that the impact was much, much stronger than what has been reported so far,” he said.

All five sea turtle species in the Gulf of Mexico are considered endangered or threatened, making it illegal to sell their meat, eggs or shells.