Over 100 people crowded into the Duke lecture Hall last Friday night to hear world renowned ecologist and author Carl Safina regale the audience with stories describing the fascinating natural history of sea turtles. Dr. Safina also discussed the current plight of these ancient species as they try to hang on despite increasing threats from human interference. The lecture was inspired by his new book Voyage of the Turtle as part of MSRC’s East End Public Lecture Series at the Stony Brook-Southampton Campus. MSRC’s Dean David Conover noted, “Carl Safina is one of the very few scientists who can tum technical scientific-knowledge into poetry that inspires people to care about the future of our oceans and its inhabitants. The audience was captivated by Carl’s vivid descriptions and images of the lives of sea turtles.”
Through images from travels in the oceans of three continents and readings from the book, Voyage of the Turtle was a global journey. “Motivating our travels,” Salina explained, “was the pursuit of Earth’s last warm-blooded monster reptile, the skin-covered Leatherback Turtle. The Leatherback has seen dinosaurs come and go and is the closest thing we have to a last living dinosaur … Throughout our explorations from tropical New Guinea jungle beaches to chilly waters off Newfoundland, we came face-to-face with animals, villagers, fishermen, and researchers living entwined lives … Throughout our travels, we explored a curious fact: that in the Pacific. sea turtles are careening toward extinction, while in the Atlantic sea turtle recovery is the mode. In thePacific, the Leatherback … has declined 95 percent during just the last two decades. By contrast, in the Atlantic the Leatherback is increasing, with some populations growing exponentially. We learned why, what is working and what is failing, and what can be done. Their inspiring Atlantic comeback lets us envision long-term survival.”
Dr. Safina grew up fascinated by the ocean and its creatures. He now works to highlight, explain, and solve problems facing the oceans’ wildlife. Safina is author of more than a hundred publications, including the books Song for the Blue Ocean and Eye of the Albatross. He also co-authored the Seafood Lover’s Almanac. His conservation work has been profiled in The New York Times, on Nightline, and in the Bill Moyers’ television special ‘Earth on Edge.’ Safina is a recipient of the Pew Scholar’s Award in Conservation and the Environment, a World Wildlife Fund Senior Fellowship, the Lannan Literary Award for nonfiction, the John Burroughs Medal for literature,and a MacArthur prize, among others. He is now president of Blue Ocean Institute, a non-profit he co-founded in 2003, which seeks to inspire a closer relationship with the sea.
