WEBVTT - How Could an Underwater Highway Help Save Sea Turtles?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeartRadio Hey brain

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff Lauren vogelbamb here. The flora and fauna of the

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<v Speaker 1>Galapagos and similar biodiversity hotspots are as beautiful and weird

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<v Speaker 1>as they are scientifically fascinating, and there is a roster

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<v Speaker 1>of measures in place to protect them, including highly regulated

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<v Speaker 1>tourism and fishing protocols, including a sort of protected super

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<v Speaker 1>highway for sea creatures. This swimway, a major marine animal

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<v Speaker 1>migration route, spans more than forty six thousand square miles

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<v Speaker 1>or one hundred and twenty thousand square kilometers between Ecuador's

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<v Speaker 1>Galapgos Islands and Costa Rica's Cocos Island, both UNESCO World

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<v Speaker 1>Heritage Sites. Wildlife like sea turtles and numerous other endangered

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<v Speaker 1>species frequently traverse this roughly four hundred mile route that's

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<v Speaker 1>about six hundred and fifty kilometers looking for food and nesting.

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<v Speaker 1>While while each country protects the waterways around its respective islands,

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<v Speaker 1>the well trodden passage between the tube is riddled with

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<v Speaker 1>life threatening risks for marine life, largely linked to overfishing.

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<v Speaker 1>The underwater highway, first proposed in twenty eighteen, could change

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<v Speaker 1>that and help model conservation for other important areas around

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<v Speaker 1>the world. Here's how it works and how it could

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<v Speaker 1>benefit our increasingly threatened oceans. Okay, first off, there won't

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<v Speaker 1>be a literal expressway with turtles and sharks traversing lanes

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<v Speaker 1>between these two locations, and the marine passage won't require

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<v Speaker 1>construction or physical guard rails like some of the land

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<v Speaker 1>based bridges and tunnels that safeguard migratory terrestrial animals around

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<v Speaker 1>the world. Instead, the Cocos Galapagos Swimway will protect sea

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<v Speaker 1>life from human driven threats like fishing with a series

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<v Speaker 1>of interwoven regulations and oversight. The project will set up

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<v Speaker 1>no fishing zones linking two existing marine protected areas or MPAs,

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<v Speaker 1>the Galapagos Marine Reserve, established in nineteen ninety eight and

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<v Speaker 1>Cocos Island National Park, which has been protected since the

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen eighties. While animals are already largely safe within those reserves,

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<v Speaker 1>they face severe threats from commercial fishing, such as net

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<v Speaker 1>entanglements when they enter open waters. For the article of

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<v Speaker 1>this episode is based on how Stuffworks. Spoke via email

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<v Speaker 1>Tom O'Hara, communications manager for Galapagos Conservation Trust. He said

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<v Speaker 1>the ocean between Galapagos and Cocos is a popular place

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<v Speaker 1>for industrial fishing fleets to work, including those focus on

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<v Speaker 1>harvesting shark fins often destined for the Asian market. In

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<v Speaker 1>order to fully protect the swimway, new MPAs must be

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<v Speaker 1>created and implemented. In twenty twenty two, Ecuador made headway

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<v Speaker 1>with its new Harmandad Marine Reserve. The reserve added more

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<v Speaker 1>than twenty three thousand square miles that's sixty thous square

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<v Speaker 1>kilometers to Ecuadors protected areas of the ocean. A roughly

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<v Speaker 1>half of that includes a now fishing zone to protect

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<v Speaker 1>Ecuador's portion of the swimway, and now the initiative relies

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<v Speaker 1>on Costa Rica expanding its protections. Houstuffworks also spoke with

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<v Speaker 1>Todd Steiner, executive director of the Turtle Island Restoration Network.

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<v Speaker 1>Steiner is a founding member of Mygramar, a collective of

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<v Speaker 1>scientists studying the movement of Keystone migratory marine species Migramar

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<v Speaker 1>is spearheading this swimway initiative. A Steiner explained that countries

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<v Speaker 1>have what's called exclusive economic zones. A quote, every country

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<v Speaker 1>owns two hundred miles that's three hundred and twenty two

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<v Speaker 1>kilometers out from its land mass. A Costa Rica owns

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<v Speaker 1>two hundred miles from its coast, and it also owns

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<v Speaker 1>two hundred miles around Cocos Island. A Cocos Island and

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<v Speaker 1>the Galapagos are three hundred and ninety four miles that's

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<v Speaker 1>six hundred and thirty four kilometers apart, so the exclusive

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<v Speaker 1>economic zones just overlap. If you can get these two

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<v Speaker 1>countries to agree, you can protect a large swath of

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<v Speaker 1>this important migration corridor to run effectively. This protected swimway

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<v Speaker 1>requires oversight from the government and scientists in the Galapagos.

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<v Speaker 1>This is already in motion, O'Hara said. The Galapagos Marine

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<v Speaker 1>Reserve is policed by both the Marine Unit of the

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<v Speaker 1>Galapagos National Park Directorate and by the Ecuadorian Navy. There

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<v Speaker 1>is also increasing use of technology such as satellites to

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<v Speaker 1>monitor fishing activity. Various sea creatures frequent this migratory route

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<v Speaker 1>throughout their life cycles. It sees turtles and sharks, including

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<v Speaker 1>six endangered species whale sharks, tiger sharks, leatherback turtles, green turtles,

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<v Speaker 1>silky sharks, and scalloped hammerhead sharks. Creatures follow this specific

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<v Speaker 1>route because it's easy to navigate. The islands are the

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<v Speaker 1>volcanic mountain tops of a long underwater mountain range. Because

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<v Speaker 1>the range is volcanic, it's also magnetic. Species use this

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<v Speaker 1>to navigate from point to point. The Swimways Mountain range

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<v Speaker 1>is packed with biodiversity, providing food for migratory animals along

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<v Speaker 1>their journeys. The migrators also flock to the Cocos and

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<v Speaker 1>Galapagos Islands for nesting and foraging, and many of these

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<v Speaker 1>species can use all the help they can get. For example,

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<v Speaker 1>the Galapagos green turtle averages about one hundred eggs per nest,

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<v Speaker 1>yet only two on average reach the adult stage due

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<v Speaker 1>to natural predators like crabs and birds. Once these two

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<v Speaker 1>ish hatchlings reach adulthood and begin to travel, they encounter

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<v Speaker 1>even more threats, again like commercial fishing. According to the

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<v Speaker 1>World Wildlife Fund, or WWF, more than two hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>fifty thousand turtles around the world die after being caught

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<v Speaker 1>in fisheries, largely from fishing nets. These are bad odds

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<v Speaker 1>for the Galapagos green turtle, which is listed as endangered

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<v Speaker 1>by the WWF. It's even worse news for the leatherback

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<v Speaker 1>sea turtle, which is on the verge of extinction due

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<v Speaker 1>to overfishing pressures. The WWF reports of the Pacific Ocean

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<v Speaker 1>may have only two thousand, three hundred adult leatherback females remaining.

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<v Speaker 1>The Cocos Galapagos Swimway was designed to safeguard marine migrators

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<v Speaker 1>like the sea turtle, but turtles aren't the only animals

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<v Speaker 1>that would benefit from enhanced protections. After all, everything on

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<v Speaker 1>our planet is linked, O'Hara said. Island, coastal and marine

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<v Speaker 1>ecosystems are all linked, and healthy ocean biodiversity helps terrestrial

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<v Speaker 1>and coastal species that depend directly or indirectly on the ocean.

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<v Speaker 1>Carbon dioxide is absorbed and stored by marine ecosystems such

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<v Speaker 1>as mangroves, and by marine creatures themselves. Protecting the seas

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<v Speaker 1>around the Galapagos is not just about protecting marine wildlife,

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<v Speaker 1>It's about safeguarding the future of our own species. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>episode is based on the article the Galapagos and Cocos

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<v Speaker 1>Islands are building a turtle super Highway on how stuffworks

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<v Speaker 1>dot com, written by Stephanie Vermilion. Brain Stuff is production

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<v Speaker 1>of iHeartRadio in partnership with HowStuffWorks dot com and is

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<v Speaker 1>produced by Tyler Klang. For more podcasts from My Heart Radio,

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