The main goal is to build on experience and momentum of the initial phase of mares comunidad

The U.S. Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service awarded a $158,600 project grant under the Marine Turtle Conservation Fund (CFDA 15.645) to Grupo Tortuguero De Las Californias, A.C., a nonprofit organization based in Mexico. The grant, awarded in August 2024, aims to build on the experience and momentum of the initial phase of the "MARES COMUNIDAD" project. The key objectives are to: 1) Design and facilitate structured knowledge exchange workshops to co-develop community-led strategies to mitigate sea turtle bycatch and improve fishery sustainability in small-scale fisheries, and 2) Implement systematic surveys to collect baseline information on bycatch events from under-studied areas through beach surveys and rapid bycatch assessments. The project takes a bottom-up approach, with fishers taking the lead in seeking solutions to reduce sea turtle bycatch in their local fisheries.

The activities of the project include working with multiple stakeholders and a diverse team to foster the development of holistic strategies to reduce sea turtle bycatch in small-scale fisheries, employing a bottom-up approach where fishers take the lead in seeking solutions. To achieve this, we set two major objectives: 1) design and facilitate structured knowledge exchange workshops to CO-develop community-led and tailored strategies to mitigate bycatch and improve fishery sustainability and 2) implement systematic surveys to collect baseline information on bycatch events from under-studied areas, through beach surveys and rapid bycatch assessments.