ShellBank

🌊🐢 Exciting News for Hawksbill Sea Turtle Conservation! 🐢🌊 The Smithsonian Magazine has featured ShellBank in a fantastic article highlighting how our global DNA database is helping protect endangered hawksbill turtles from illegal trade. This initiative is a critical step toward tracing the origins of seized hawksbill products, strengthening conservation efforts, and ensuring these incredible animals have a future in our oceans. A huge thank you to all our partners, collaborators, and supporters who make this work possible. Together, we’re proving that science and collaboration can create meaningful change. Check out the article to learn more: Smithsonian Magazine Article #ShellBank #HawksbillTurtles #Conservation #MarineTurtles #EndIllegalTrade https://lnkd.in/dqGDvi4d

TRAFFIC Viet Nam and the Department of Fisheries Surveillance hosted a dynamic workshop introducing ShellBank—an innovative traceability toolkit and global marine turtle DNA database aimed at tracking marine turtles and their products worldwide. The 35 delegates, including experts, officers, and representatives of marine protected areas, learned how ShellBank works, from DNA sampling techniques to lab processing. They also practiced turtle identification, sample collection, and evidential handling. Led by international experts at WWF, the co-founders of ShellBank, participants discussed the challenges of putting ShellBank into practice, including human resources and the authority to implement the tool. Looking ahead, the group also identified opportunities to apply ShellBank data in Viet Nam, from advancing conservation efforts to supporting the establishment of new protected areas.  Learn more about ShellBank here: https://lnkd.in/eQemfHH5

ShellBank database is live, check out our recent media release to showcase this to the world. Happy turtling 🐢 WWF Australian Museum NOAA Fisheries https://lnkd.in/gvp3C7-k

🌊🧬 New study out revealing first insights into Indonesia's critically endangered hawksbill turtles! It was a pleasure collaborating with Iqbal Sani from IPB University and numerous dedicated organizations including Yayasan Penyu Laut Indonesia (YPLI), Everlasting Nature of Asia (ELNA), Oceanogen, University of Kyoto, and WWF on this important research. This groundbreaking study highlights the significant genetic diversity of hawksbill turtles in the Java Sea, underscoring the importance of localized conservation strategies to protect these incredible creatures. Read more about this below. #Conservation #MarineBiology #GeneticResearch #HawksbillTurtles #ShellBank #WWF #IPBUniversity #Collaboration