Sea Turtle Media Campaign 2005 A Success!

In February and March of 2005, Wildcoast, Fondo de Educacion Ambiental, Pronatura Noroeste, Fondo de Conservación del Golfo de California, Grupo de los Cien and Selva Negra carried out an extremely successful campaign against sea turtle meat consumption in northwest Mexico and Mexico City.

Covering all four states surrounding the Sea of Cortes, this campaign included the participation of local representatives, all of them directly involved in sea turtle conservation projects.

The message contained four main issues:

• Do not consume sea turtle products
• Sea turtles are not fish, they are red meat, and not suitable for human consumption, especially during Lent
• Denounce the sea turtle trade
• Sea turtles are worth much more alive than dead.

The team members, consisting of local representatives in each site, were interviewed by the major radio stations, TV stations and newspapers in all four states: Sonora, Sinaloa, Baja California Sur and Baja California Norte, plus Mexico City, whose radio and TV stations have national reach.

Besides this massive media campaign, billboards were installed in each state´s major cities, including La Paz, Tijuana, Mexicali, Hermosillo and Culiacan. Banners were displayed and postcards were distributed at the major crossroads of Sonora, Mazatlan, Ensenada and Mexico City, reaching high percentages of the population, especially in Sonora and Sinaloa.

When this campaign started, many people didn’t even know that sea turtle consumption was illegal, or that sea turtles were an endangered species. Four years later, new surveys reveal that 100% of the people interviewed are now aware of these facts. There is still much to do, but this proves that it is possible to save endangered species. With the right messages and the cooperation of the people, we can achieve intelligent use of our natural resources and save this unique species!

Special thanks to Pronatura Noroeste, FEA, Televisa, TV Azteca, Reforma and all those who have made this campaign a very successful one.