The Turtle Island Restoration Network, a non-profit based in Galveston, TX, is a top finalist for Galveston.com’s 2019 Best of the Island Awards. Voting for the best non-profit is open and continues through December 31. The organization’s Galveston office works to protect and restore sea turtles and marine biodiversity in Texas and across the Gulf of Mexico.
Key achievements this year include: – Recruited over 300 volunteers to monitor nesting sea turtles from April to June, patrolling more than 18,360 miles of beach and locating and protecting 190 nests along the entire Texas coast. – Managed 49% of the fishing line collection tubes in Galveston County, collecting 1,081 pounds of fishing line that could have ended up in the ocean. – Installed 19 sea turtle statues designed by local artists around Galveston Island as part of the Turtles About Town campaign to raise awareness about protecting the critically endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle. – Expanded community-based microplastic pollution research through student and volunteer efforts, contributing to the collection, reporting, and sharing of publicly accessible data on microplastics and pollutants Gulf-wide. – Submitted over 7,000 petitions urging state and federal agencies to acknowledge the record number of stranded sea turtles and require Turtle Excluder Devices on all fishing vessels in the Gulf of Mexico. You can vote for the Turtle Island Restoration Network on the Galveston.com website.
