Issue 84 - May 2022

New SEE Shell Mobile Application Uses Machine Learning to Help Tackle the Illegal Tortoiseshell Trade

The application uses deep machine learning and photographic image recognition to discern whether or not a product is made from a hawksbill sea turtle’s shell.

PORTLAND, Or, USA – Conservation nonprofit SEE Turtles has launched an innovative mobile application that will help address the illegal trade of hawksbill sea turtle shells. The beautiful shells of this critically endangered species, commonly referred to as “tortoiseshell,” are used to create jewelry and ornamental souvenirs in many countries. The SEE Shell App employs machine learning to differentiate real and faux tortoiseshell products; it is the first mobile application to use artificial intelligence to combat the illegal wildlife trade. This novel technology will enable tourists, law enforcement, and wildlife officials to quickly identify products made of authentic tortoiseshell.

Despite international laws against the sale of tortoiseshell goods, the tortoiseshell trade is active in at least 40 countries, according to SEE Turtles 2020 “Global Tortoiseshell Trade” report, and it remains the primary threat to hawksbill sea turtles. With an estimated 15,000 to 25,000 adult female hawksbill turtles remaining in the wild, this groundbreaking mobile application will play a key role in bringing these animals back from the brink of extinction.

“One of the major roadblocks to eliminating the illegal tortoiseshell trade is the difficulty in distinguishing real from fake products, whether by a consumer or law enforcement officer,” said Brad Nahill, President of SEE Turtles. “Because telling these products apart can be very difficult, retailers and shoppers often unwittingly contribute to the trade.”

SEE Shell will help eliminate this confusion. This highly accurate application can now discern whether an item is made of real hawksbill shell or from faux tortoiseshell materials such as resin, horn, bone, seashells, or coconut shells with at least 94% accuracy by simply taking a photo. The mobile application utilizes deep learning technology that compares product photos taken by app users to a data library of more than 4,000 real and artificial tortoiseshell products. As images are stored in the catalog from locations around the globe, a clearer understanding of the size and location of the illegal tortoiseshell trade will emerge. This evidence will inform where trade enforcement and hawksbill conservation is most needed.

“Thanks to our conservation partners around the world who have contributed tortoiseshell photos, we have created a first in the wildlife trafficking field; an app that can help individual consumers identify and avoid endangered animal products,” said Alexander Robillard, Computer Vision Engineer with SEE Turtles and Predoctoral Fellow with the Smithsonian OCIO Data Science Lab and National Zoo.

SEE Turtles has also partnered with the World Wildlife Fund for Nature on the SEE Shell App, who is providing financial and technical support to help advance the application’s data collection and documentation and to help promote and embed its use with government agencies and online retailers.

“SEE Shell will not only empower international travelers to do their part in reducing demand for tortoiseshell products, but for the first time, provide law enforcement officials with a tool they can use to identify these products for sale in markets, online, and when intercepted or confiscated at border crossings,” said WWF Global Marine Turtle Conservation Lead, Christine Madden Hof.

A part of SEE Turtles’ “Too Rare to Wear” campaign, partnering organizations in Indonesia and Latin America have helped to test the app in the field and will train local law enforcement officials on how to use the application to document the presence of tortoiseshell trade in their regions. Participating organizations include the Turtle Foundation (Indonesia), Fundación Tortugas del Mar (Colombia), Latin American Sea Turtles (Costa Rica), The Leatherback Project (Panama), and Sos Nicaragua.

SEE Turtles’ “Too Rare to Wear” campaign connects conservation organizations, tourism partners, media outlets, and other sea turtle conservation advocates to end the demand for tortoiseshell products by educating consumers. Travel companies and media outlets are invited to join the campaign and help by becoming sponsors and partners. Details are available on SEEturtles.org/too-rare-to-wear.

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Conservation Photography

Euselenops Luniceps – Jack’s May 2022 Underwater Photograph

Euselenops luniceps is a most unique member of the family Pleurobranchidae, the side-gilled sea slugs. Unlike other members of this family, Euselenops has a very flattened, low relief body, and its foot is much wider than its mantle. In most other pleurobranchs the foot and mantle are of similar size. Looking and behaving more like a cephalaspidean, Euselenops is highly adapted for living in sandy environments. The large oval veil is edged with a series of long, fine branched sensory papillae, as seen here in Marc’s photo and on the Sea Slug Forum. As seen on the Forum, Euselenops dives under the surface of the sand to feed and hide from predators. When completely covered only the white tips of the rhinophores and the pallial siphon, protrude from the substrate.

Some of the body adaptations seen in Euselenops , are common in several other completely unrelated sand-dwelling sea slugs. These include Kalinga ornata, some of the Armina’s and Cerberilla . They all have a broad foot, flattened body, and wide oral veil with sensory papillae or long sensory oral tentacles for locating prey. Like these other sandy bottom predators, it is active at night. Little is known about what it feeds on however.

Euselenops luniceps is also a good swimmer, having been observed swimming with body undulations like those used by sea hares or the Spanish Dancer, Hexabranchus sanguineus.

Cuvier derived the name of this species from its moon-shaped body. Specimens may reach 75 mm in length and occur throughout the tropical Indo-West Pacific, where they are found on sandy or fine coral debris bottoms.

See more of Jack Fung’s underwater photography on Instagram

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Issue 84 - May 2022

SEVENSEAS Travel Magazine – May 2022 – Issue 84

Featured Destination

Tetiaroa Atoll Hope Spot

Tetiaroa Atoll is a rare, secluded place that serves as a refuge for nesting green sea turtles and a variety of seabird species, surrounded by a healthy coral reef and a brilliant turquoise lagoon. Unfortunately, like other atolls around the globe, Tetiaroa and the coral reefs that support it are at serious risk due to the negative effects of climate change and resource misuse– but there is hope. Read more…

A Polynesian Dive Adventure with a Climate Warning

Drifting 70 feet below the surface amidst shoaling reef fish with a pod of bottlenose dolphins above you and a school of grey sharks below is a dream come true for most divers. Now I’m living that dream but also fearing the possible loss of the wonders that surround me. Read more…

Conservation and Ecotourism in The Islands of Tahiti

The Islands of Tahiti are home to some of the most luxurious eco-hotels, the largest natural marine sanctuaries, as well as some of the healthiest coral gardens anywhere in the world. These conditions combined with relatively-low visitor volumes, not only make The Islands of Tahiti a remarkably beautiful place to visit, it is also the ideal choice for travellers. Read more…

Conservation Photography with Karim & Jack

Pilot Whales Spotted in French Polynesia

Euselenops Luniceps

What’s In Our Newsroom

Water Sports Foundation: As Record Numbers of Paddlers Take to The Water, Accidents Surge

A record 37.9 million participants engaged in paddlesports like kayaking, canoeing and stand-up paddleboarding during the pandemic according to the latest data (2020) from the Outdoor Foundation. This pandemic surge brought an estimated 2.5 million new paddlers to American waterways. Read more…

Is China Becoming a Green Colussus? New Solar and Wind Park to Produce 240% More Energy Than All Renewables in Germany combined

China wants to build a huge solar and wind park in the Gobi Desert, which is planned to have a total capacity of 450 gigawatts. To put this into perspective: the total capacity of all renewable energy sources in Germany is 132.3 gigawatts. Read more…

Conservation and Health Organisation Unite in Urgent Appeal for Federal Biodiversity Strategy

Satellite tagging stingrays, translocating sea urchins and developing deep-sea cameras are among the 22 projects and fisheries to have been awarded funding by the internationally recognised sustainable seafood certification and ecolabelling program. Read more…

SAWFISH NEWS: Summer is Coming! Here’s What To Do If you See or Catch an Endangered Sawfish

The population of smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) in the United States experienced a dramatic decline during the 20th century due to overfishing and habitat loss. Given the decline, NOAA Fisheries listed the U.S. population of smalltooth sawfish as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 2003. Read more…

New SEE Shell Mobile Application Uses Machine Learning to Help Tackle the Illegal Tortoiseshell Trade

Conservation nonprofit SEE Turtles has launched an innovative mobile application that will help address the illegal trade of hawksbill sea turtle shells. The beautiful shells of this critically endangered species, commonly referred to as “tortoiseshell,” are used to create jewellery and ornamental souvenirs in many countries. Read more…

A Whale of a Pattern of Thought and Organizing Principle for Community-Based Environmental Management

Off the coast of Maine, an explosive exhalation of air swept my attention over the sailboat’s starboard rail. A broad stretch of hiding rose like a pebbled sand bar the length of the 27-foot boat. The right whale wheeled forward, sliding into opaque water while I stammered and pointed. Read more…

MMF & Partners create First-Ever Accurate Digital 3D Model of a Manta Ray

Florida is home to a large seasonal aggregation of adult manta rays and also serves as an important manta ray nursery. The first study on the South Florida manta ray population was published by the Marine Megafauna Foundation’s (MMF) Florida Manta Project, which has been studying manta rays in the area since 2016. Read more…

Groundbreaking Virtual Aquarium Brings Deep-Sea to The Surface

The World Ocean Observatory (W2O) and Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI) announced today the launch of the World Ocean Explorer DEEP SEA exhibit, creating a first-of-its-kind immersive virtual aquarium showcasing deep-sea discoveries. THE DEEP SEA is an educational, interactive online platform for ocean exploration and discovery. Read more…

Rice News: Treated Plastic Waste Good at Grabbing Carbon Dioxide

Here’s another thing to do with that mountain of used plastic: make it soak up excess carbon dioxide. What seems like a win-win for a pair of pressing environmental problems describes a Rice University lab’s newly discovered chemical technique to turn waste plastic into an effective carbon dioxide (CO2) sorbent for the industry. Read more…

2022 Slow Wine USA Guide Now Available, Chronicles Sustainable Winemaking In The US

The acclaimed Italian wine organization, Slow Wine, announces the release of the 2022 Slow Wine USA Guide, which is now available for presale on Slow Food USA’s website, where all proceeds support Slow Wine, and on Amazon. See more…

Our Food, Our Health. Nourishing Biodiversity to Heal Ourselves & The Planet

“There is an indissoluble link between the health of humans, animals, plant life and the environment: the problems affecting each of all the categories of life must be tackled as part of an integrated approach,” says Edie Mukiibi, vice-president of Slow Food on the occasion of World Health Day 2022. Read more…

The 5 Best Places in the World to See Marine Life

Anybody with experience in scuba diving and snorkelling will tell you that there is no experience comparable to entering the world of aquatic creatures and witnessing them in their natural environment. There are many places around the world where you can do this. Some, however, are truly special, and here we’ve gathered five of the very best. Read more…

The FREE Weekly Conservation Post and Jobs List

Signing up for the free Weekly Newsletter & Jobs List will get you a round-up of upcoming events, webinars, meetings, reports, funding opportunities, photos of the week, and recent postings to the jobs list.

To sign up for our free subscription, please Click Here or email us Here.

Since 2004, SEVENSEAS Media has fostered an informal and non-partisan platform to promote understanding of key issues and challenges while building partnerships across an increasingly diverse group of marine conservation professionals and students.

Our mission is to promote communication and build partnerships across the global marine community and to identify and address gaps in the community’s work. SEVENSEAS Media achieves this through multimedia promotion and partnerships. The community consists of a diverse and growing group of participants, including non-governmental organizations, government agencies, foundations, bilateral and multilateral agencies, fellowship programs, independent consultants, and academia/students.

If you are interested in contributing or getting involved, email us Here.

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Issue 84 - May 2022

The 5 Best Places in the World to See Marine Life

By Lana B.

Anybody with experience of scuba diving and snorkelling will tell you that there is no experience comparable to entering the world of aquatic creatures and witnessing them in their natural environment. There are many places around the world where you can do this. Some, however, are truly special, and here we’ve gathered five of the very best.

Palawan, Philippines

The Philippines are home to a huge variety of marine life, such as manta rays, whale sharks, seahorses, and bizarre and fascinating frogfish. The best place to visit for biodiversity is the island of Palawan, particularly the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, a marine and bird sanctuary that can be explored by divers and snorkelers from liveaboards departing from Puerto Princesa City.

Galápagos Islands

The Galápagos Islands are known for having such a large number of endemic species that they inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection, and this extends to the marine life in the surrounding waters.

All sorts of amazing creatures can be seen, from dolphins to hammerhead sharks, to sea turtles, to penguins. However, sea conditions are often challenging and most areas are only for experienced divers. The islands can be reached by flying out from mainland Ecuador.

Grand Bahama, Bahamas

If you want to see sharks in their natural habitat, there’s no better place in the world to visit than the Bahamas. If you can only visit one location, make it to Tiger Beach, in Grand Bahama. As its name suggests, it’s the ideal location to find tiger sharks, as well as a variety of other marine creatures, so grab a plane or fast ferry from Ft. Lauderdale to Freeport and start exploring!

Palau

Palau is one of the world’s finest destinations for scuba diving, boasting hundreds of species of coral and fish, manta rays and various species of sharks. All of this is set in a relatively unspoiled environment, with very little in the way of pollution or encroachment. You’re guaranteed an unforgettable experience.

Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, Brazil

With pristine waters, perfect diving temperatures, and an absolutely dizzying array of aquatic creatures including octopi, hammerhead sharks, barracuda, sea turtles, manta rays, sand sharks, and more, this group of islands off the coast of Brazil is a diver’s paradise.

The only problem is getting there; access to Fernando de Noronha is restricted to preserve the unique environment, and you will need to book months in advance. Once this is resolved, however, you’re guaranteed the experience of a lifetime.

Want to find more information about locations around the world? Head over to CrowdsourcedExplorer.com, where you can find locally sourced information about thousands of cities around the world.

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