Ecotourism & Conservation

How SEE Turtles Protects SEA Turtles

Our goal is to support sea turtle conservation efforts around the world through ecotourism. We work with community-based organizations working at key turtle sites to help promote responsible tourism that will allow the organizations to expand their work and bring alternative sources of income to communities where poaching and fishing are common practice.

Here are some of the ways we support conservation efforts:

• Since our launch, we have generated roughly $250,000 for conservation and local communities. This support is a combination of donations, small grants, fees, indirect spending, and in-kind donations.
  
• More than 300 people have visited our partners so far, ranging from long-term volunteers to travelers visiting a nesting beach for an evening.
  
• Small grants we have given to partners have funded the removal of fishing gear and helped train guides in Baja California Sur, as well as paying for beach patrols and allowing a women’s cooperative expand an innovative recycled plastic bag program in Costa Rica.  
  
• Our Turtle Watching Best Practices guide is helping to improve how communities and governments manage turtle tourism in several countries.
• We have reached more than 15 million people with the message of responsible turtle tourism through magazines, blogs, enewsletters, and speaking engagements. Check out our media page for examples.
  
• More than 150 volunteers recruited through our Matching Service have completed more than 1,000 shifts patrolling nesting beaches, guarding hatcheries, and other important activities.
• Our school presentations have reached more than 1,000 students around the country.
• SEE Turtles is the first to offer "conservation pricing" where each tour price lists how much of the cost goes towards conservation and local communities.
• We raised more than $5,000 for hawksbill conservation which will help to save more than 10,000 hatchlings of the world's most endangered sea turtle population.
  
• We have generated more than 2,000 actions for wildlife and habitat advocacy campaigns.

Support Our Work

SEE Turtles is a non-profit project that depends upon donations to support sea turtle conservation organizations.  Every dollar you donate will help us leverage funding for these small, hard-working groups.  Donations are made through our fiscal sponsor, The Ocean Foundation.

Read Our Responsible Tourism Policy

Responsible Tourism Policy (2,715 kb)