Conservation of threatened and endangered marine fauna in Peru

Founded in 1995, ProDelphinus is a not-for-profit Peruvian organization based in Lima.
ProDelphinus is committed to the conservation of threatened and endangered marine fauna. Beginning in 1995, ProDelphinus, together with organizations such as the Peruvian Center for Cetacean Research CEPEC, participated actively in a campaign to legally ban  the dolphins take and consumption in Peru.
Currently, ProDelphinus conducts projects on research and conservation of threatened and endangered marine species, such as sea turtles, marine otters, cetaceans, seabirds and sharks. These species are either permanent residents to Peruvian waters or just temporary visitors as they continue along their migration routes. Studies of the interactions between these species and Peruvian fisheries and the ways to prevent it, form a major component of ProDelphinus’ current research.Mortality  rate in each of the life stages, but especially during the aquatic stages, have  been identified as a critical aspect of sea turtle research by the Global  Strategy for the Conservation of Sea Turtles (IUCN, 1995). In Peru, together  with the lack of education of fishing and coastal communities, the main threats  to turtles are fisheries mortality (bycatch), and habitat degradation and  pollution. In 2001, ProDelphinus started a systematic assessment of turtle  bycatch along the Peruvian coast.
Our satellite tracking project is the first telemetry study of  loggerhead turtles in the southeastern Pacific Ocean.  The presence of loggerheads in this region was only recently verified.  “Cabezona” (big head) or “Amarilla” (yellow) are the local names for this  species. The goal of this study is to improve our understanding of loggerhead  habitat use, migration and foraging patterns in the southeastern Pacific. So  far we have released 15 loggerhead turtles with satellite transmitters.
The  goal of our educational program is to reach out to the next generation of  fishermen in the ports with the highest levels of sea turtle mortality and  human consumption of turtles. We aim to provide them with information and the tools  they need to make informed decisions regarding sea turtle conservation.  Currently, ProDelphinus continues to monitoring several ports along the  Peruvian coast in collaboration with Oregon  Zoo, International Fund for  Animal Welfare (IFAW), Idea Wild, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Nature  and Culture International and  the National Fish and  Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and the  International Seafood Sustainability Foundation through The Ocean Foundation.