My interview with Randall about the Cocos Island Project, Cocos Island 2010, and endangered Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles in the Gulf of Mexico.

1. Marine Investigator Randall Arauz
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The Catch Conservation Fund recently met with Marine Investigator Randall Arauz,
Executive Director of Programa Restauracion De Tortugas Marinas (PRETOMA) in Costa Rica
and winner of this year’s Goldman Prize for Marine Conservation, to get an update on the
Cocos Island Shark and Sea Turtle Tagging Expedition:
The Catch Conservation Fund: Randall, thank you so much for talking with us this afternoon. Before
we get started, I want to congratulate you on the award you just won. Would you mind telling our
readers a little bit more about that?
Randall Arauz: Well, thanks a lot for giving me this opportunity. The Goldman Prize was for our anti-
shark finning campaign and the impact PRETOMA has had on fishing practices in Costa Rica. This award
will go a long way in helping us advance shark conservation in the Eastern Pacific.
The Catch Conservation Fund: I hear PRETOMA also won a big victory over the status of Las Baulas
National Park in Costa Rica recently. Can you tell us what the current situation is there?
Randall Arauz: It was a small victory, but not exactly what we needed. This is a very complicated issue,
so I will try to be as brief as I can. Las Baulas was created in 1991 to protect Leatherback Sea Turtle
hatching grounds, and it was one of five beaches in the Eastern Tropical Pacific that were set aside for
those purposes. But now in 2010, the government of Costa Rica is trying to demote the park’s status to
allow development there. This initiative was deferred by the Environmental Commission, and it is now up
to the new government of President Laura Chinchilla. We are still not sure what she will decide to do.
The Catch Conservation Fund: You are well known for your years of dedication to marine
conservation. How did you first become involved in protecting our oceans?
Randall Arauz: It started when I was very young. I was raised by the sea in LA, and I would love
spending my summers out there as any kid would. I remember watching The Undersea World of Jacques
Cousteau back then and thinking that was what I wanted to do for a living. My parents are Costa Rican,
and I came back to Costa Rica with them when I was 10. I started to study biology, and got involved in
fisheries issues. But one day I walked into the biology building and there was a big sign – ARRIBADA,
arribada being an event where hundreds and thousands of turtles nest. So I went and saw this event,
and I’ve dedicated my career to sea turtles and sustainable fisheries ever since. That eventually led me to
the shark issue, because they all link back to overfishing and how that is impacting endangered species.
The Catch Conservation Fund: It seems that we are always hearing "this is endangered, or that is
endangered" these days, but seriously, what is your honest assessment of the marine ecosystem in
general, and which species are most endangered?
Randall Arauz: The state of the ocean right now is pretty precarious. In general, we are seeing a 90%
decline in all ocean predators. Fisheries around the globe have been collapsing. We are seeing some
major changes in the marine ecosystem due to the impact of overfishing, and my greatest concern is that
we’re not seeing any changes in the way we fish. We’re seeing lots of initiatives and commissions. We
hear a lot of talk about the problems, but there has not been one single action taken to reduce the

2. Randall Arauz (cont): mortality of sea turtles or sharks. We’re just gathering more information about
how we are wiping them out, and we really need to change that.
The Catch Conservation Fund: So what would happen to our oceans if we allow all of these animals
to just go extinct?
Randall Arauz: We always talk about food security. Industrial fisheries were supposed to provide for
that, but we are seeing exactly the opposite now. Industrial fishing is wiping out the functionality of the
marine ecosystem by causing massive extinctions of marine predators, and that translates to the
economic sustainability of the oceans. We have got to get back to more sustainable ways to harvest our
oceans. There are ways it can be done. We need to stop being so greedy. Food Security, Extinction -
those are issues that will come back to hurt us all if we don’t change our ways.
The Catch Conservation Fund: It's been almost 9 months since you first embarked on the Cocos
Island Hammerhead Shark and Sea Turtle Tagging Expedition. Without getting into too many specifics,
would you mind telling our readers a little bit about that initiative?
Randall Arauz: We started this on Cocos Island back in 2004 as a shark tagging project. We wanted to
study the movements of Hammerhead Sharks to provide a technical justification for why the Marine
Protected Area needs to be increased and 12 miles is not enough. So we’ve been tagging sharks with
acoustic telemetry that allows us to track them. Researchers in the Galapagos, Ecuador or Colombia use
this same technology, so we can all share information about when and where these corridors are most
active. Knowing this will help us establish sustainable policies – for example, when there should be more
or less fishing in any given area. Eventually, this project branched into tagging sea turtles, and we’ve
been on 3 sea turtle tagging expeditions so far.
The Catch Conservation Fund: We have recently been getting satellite information from Georgina,
one of the turtles you tagged during last year’s Cocos Island Project. Todd Steiner sent me an email
stating that is not exactly the case. Would you please explain?
Randall Arauz: We found Georgina and removed the non-working transponder, and now it is working
again (holds transponder up for me to see). Obviously Georgina enjoys foraging in Cocos, so we were
easily able to locate her. It seems to have reactivated when we removed it.. We also tagged 2 new
turtles – Gabby and Fredo. Now Fredo’s tag is not sending out signals, so we’ll have to go looking for him
next time we’re out there.
The Catch Conservation Fund: I recently saw it reported that you and Dr. Diego Amorocho partnered
on another sea turtle tagging mission down in Colombia. Is this a part off these same efforts?
Randall Arauz: Yes. My specialty is in sea turtle and fisheries interactions. Diego Amorocho
is an expert in sea turtle genetics, especially the Eastern Pacific Green Turtle. Very little is
known about these turtles as sub-adults before their reproductive age. Diego has located a
juvenile cohort of these turtles that live on his island – Gorgona National Park in Colombia.
Through genetics, he will be able to tell us whether the turtles came from Galapagos or
Mexico, which is where most of them are born. Some also nest on the beaches of Central
America, so maybe these are Central American turtles. And of course, this is all a puzzle.
You need to get bits and pieces of information from here and there to put it all together.
Then we can recommend what the best management practices will be.

3. The Catch Conservation Fund: Where can our readers get more information about participating in one
of these undersea missions?
Randall Arauz: Each trip we need twelve intermediate level divers to assist with this project. We catch
turtles and then weigh them and tag them, and depending on how many we catch, there’s a great deal
of work to do. And it’s a lot of fun too! We have 2 expeditions to Cocos Island each year, and have trips
booked through 2011. You can check the website of the Turtle Island Restoration Network www.tirn.net,
which belongs to my partner Todd Steiner, and you’ll find information about signing up for these
expeditions there. You can also check my website www.pretoma.org to keep up with what my
organization is doing year-round.
The Catch Conservation Fund: Turning to what's got to be on everybody's mind right now, there is
currently a massive oil leak emanating from the site of the Deep Water Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of
Mexico. Not trying to have you speculate on anything or state the obvious, but how will the introduction
of massive quantities of petroleum and the dispersants being sprayed into the Gulf alter that ecosystem?
Randall Arauz: I am no expert in this, but based on what I’ve been reading it will take decades to clean
this up. And sea turtles always come back to nest on the same beaches where they are born, so many
have been caught in this slick. And healthy turtles not caught in the oil now will be returning to these
same contaminated beaches for years to come. Also, these dispersants that make the oil sink. Well if it
sinks to the bottom, just imagine the impact it will have on the animals that live there – the shrimp trawl
fisheries, the sea turtles that eat the shrimp. It is anyone’s guess what will happen, but it is pretty hard
to believe such a thing could happen in the United States.
The Catch Conservation Fund: Are sea turtles particularly sensitive to rapid changes in the aquatic
environment? Do you think that they will be able to adapt to this? Is there enough time?
Randall Arauz: That’s the problem, the time factor. This oil spill is very severe, and will have a big
impact on the gulf in a short period of time, so most of the returning populations will not have enough
time to adapt. Ninety percent of the time, they nest on their native beaches, but every now and then a
stray turtle will nest elsewhere, and it may be nature’s strategy to combat tragedies like this. It will take
centuries for these turtles to establish new colonies though, so time once again becomes a critical factor.
The Catch Conservation Fund: What can our readers do to help preserve the future of our oceans?
Randall Arauz: We touched on this earlier, but here has been lots of talk – lots of talk – and no action.
If you are concerned about marine conservation, it is time to act. We need to stop going to symposiums
and meetings, issuing memoranda, conventions and agreements, and we need action. We need larger
Marine Protected Areas. We need to reduce fishing. There is no room for certain types of fishing like
shrimp trawling. It has got to stop, and if we don’t push for that, we’re not going to win this battle. So
my main message is to push for action. We’ve done the research. Now we need action. Call your
legislators and demand it. That’s what we need.
The Catch Conservation Fund: I really appreciate you taking time out to speak with us today. Your
message is a powerful one, and I hope our readers around the world can use this information to help
make a difference at home - wherever they live.
Randall Arauz: I appreciate this opportunity. I hope your readers fully understand the gravity of this
situation now. We all need to all work together to reverse these trends - before it’s too late.

4. Thank you for reading our interview with Marine Investigator Randall Arauz. The Catch
Conservation Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Your tax-deductible donation helps
us protect endangered sea turtles and sharks around the world.
Find out more about global threats to shark and sea turtle survival and what you can do to
help by visiting the following websites:
www.pretoma.org
www.seaturtles.org
www.migramar.org
www.cimad.org
www.tirn.net
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