My unconventional journey to marine conservation

I think I was already 26/27 years old, the first time I really used a camera. It was a digital camera from the merchandising department of Lipsy London. I was a merchandiser for their new clothing stores that were opening across the UK and I had the task of trend spotting and displaying clothing in ways that would entice you to shop ‘till you drop!

By 2011, I had moved back to Montserrat.

It wasn’t until 2015 or so that I had got the hang of a Nikon coolpix underwater camera and stumbled upon sea turtles in the snorkel trails I would visit regularly. By this time I had started the kids ocean club of Fish ‘N Fins, but I didn’t know much about turtles. I certainly couldn’t ID one as a critically endangered Hawksbill.

So, as I looked through my archived photos recently I was excited to see that I’d captured images of Hawksbill turtles in 2016 and 2017; and I pause for a few moments in gratitude and amazement at my very unconventional journey into marine conservation.

Below are the photos I found. I knew I used to see turtles in the Rendezvous Reef while snorkelling back in the day, now I’ve got the evidence.

Photo by Veta Wade

Photo by Veta Wade

Photo by Veta Wade

What I don’t know is whether this was the same individual, whether she was resident to the location, where (and when) she might’ve travelled to, outside of mating season? Is she still alive and nesting on Montserrat’s shores or even a neighbouring island, this season? I wish I knew, and could tell you. Now, I know there are so many ways of answering these questions; and we are interested to find out more.

Ezra and I snorkelling in our blue backyard

My son, Ezra, was about 6 years old when I began taking him snorkelling around the reef, and during our beach days we would sometimes see turtle eggs washed out by the surging seas. Sadly a regular occurance as there is still no full time turtle conservation project or hatchery on island. Ezra would ask me why we don’t move the eggs, and how can we save them? I didn’t have any answers, there was nothing we could really do.

Photo by Veta Wade

I suppose in some way, this all inspired me to kickstart our in-water turtle surveys with a small team of dedicated ocean stewards. Last year was the first of our in-water surveys, and this year we want to do the same again, but I haven’t written for a grant as yet. I prioritized updating The Clubhouse and moving the onus of financing Fish’N Fins from grant-based funds, small donations and personal finance to client funded. This transition is still a work-in-progress but the turtles have arrived for mating this year. So, it’s time to get back in the water and survey again.

Not having access to steady funding is truly distracting and exhausting, and I find the current approach to funding projects like these can create an unhealthy competition that can often undermine solidarity. In these moments, I want to give up, but I’m slowing down, restoring my energy and moving forward - broken but blossoming.

Last month, I promised to share our 2024 project report with you and because I love making science more inclusive and accessible here it is!

For this project we got funded $12K USD from the Marine Conservation Action Fund, New England Aquarium, ( a wonderful organisation to work with! )and you can see all of what we accomplished!

It just goes to show that when we have access to tools and finance, we can do incredible work. Imagine, what would be possible if we have 10x as much and we had certainty the funds would be there each year to support the team and organisation.

Until next time,

xo

Veta