SEE Turtles is moving forward with two different ways to reduce the trade in tortoiseshell. We are working with partner organizations in Colombia (Fundacion Tortugas del Mar) and Nicaragua (Fauna & Flora International) to expand the "turtle-safe" souvenir shop program. There are currently about 50 certified shops in Cartagena and our plan is to double them over the next year. In Nicaragua, we hope to launch the program soon using Colombia's example, with an initial goal of 20 shops. In both places, we are working with the tourism industry to encourage travelers to use these shops while visiting.
Our other effort is a new artificial intelligence technology that can recognize tortoiseshell from photos. Our plan is to turn this into a phone app that can be used by travelers, researchers, and law enforcement agencies around the world to quickly and accurately find and either avoid or confiscate illegal products. We hope to have this technology available to the public in 2021.
Thanks so much to our donors for helping us end this trade.
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