Sea Turtle Conservation Dance

This video depicts my dissertation entitled "The invention and adoption of conservation technology to successfully reduce the bycatch of protected marine species." Conservation technology is a device used to protect organisms or habitat. Bycatch refers to non-target organisms that are captured or harmed in the process of fishing. This research investigated two case studies: (1) the use of turtle excluder devices (TEDs) to reduce bycatch of sea turtles in shrimp nets and (2) the use of various dolphin conservation technologies to reduce bycatch of dolphins in tuna nets. By applying theories on invention, technology transfer, and diffusion of innovations, my dissertation yielded a best practices framework and invention and adoption theories specific for conservation technologies. The dance opens with aerial dancers. The suspended fluidity of their movements embodies swimming in the ocean. The swinging and dancing couples are sea turtles mating. In the wild sea turtles breed and nest in the same time and place that shrimpers fish and so the sea turtles can get caught in the nets and drown. This is depicted by the dancing trio as well as the aerial dancer. As the female sea turtle dancer leaves her mate to swim ashore and nest she is caught by the shrimper in gray and dies. In the case study the environmentalists really championed the cause of sea turtles, making it a national issue. The dance scene of the environmentalists mourning over the dead sea turtle and running in protest shows this. Even though sea turtle bycatch was a very controversial issue a few leaders from each stakeholder community were forerunners in seeking collaboration across sectors. This early collaboration is portrayed by the four dancers coming together and holding hands to stand up. Importantly, the other shrimp fisherman in the scene turns his back, symbolizing the early resistance of many shrimpers to sea turtle conservation efforts. Also, the other change agent sits on the floor symbolizing that many change agents were hesitant to get involved in the controversy. In the background the other environmentalists are moving, prepared and ready to engage in further action. After standing, the group of four move together searching for a solution to the sea turtle bycatch problem. Finally, the government scientist and the shrimper come together joining arms and legs to form a barred circle. This shape is reminiscent of a TED, which looks like a large grid from a charcoal grill and is used to selectively direct large things (i.e. turtles) out of the net while keeping small things (i.e. shrimp). This moment in the dance marks when a shrimper and government scientist independently and simultaneously developed the first prototype of a TED intended for consistent commercial use. This coupling also illustrates the important and interdependent relationship that government and shrimpers had in creating better devices in the subseqent. Next all the dancers move together forming the TED shape, illustrating one of the major conclusions from my research, which is that diffusion (i.e. peer to peer sharing) is a better method than technology transfer for encouraging adoption of conservation technology. The final scene is of a turtle encountering a net with a TED, using the TED the turtle is able to escape out of the net safely and swim away. There are many layers of symbolism in this dance. The dance portrays the sea turtle case study, but is also relevant to much of what occurred in the tuna/dolphin case study (in that dolphins were caught in nets, fisherman and government scientist each played crucial and interdepent roles in inventing conservation technology, and diffusion was the best method for promoting adoption). The music was a popular song in the 1980s, which was the central period for the case study. The music video for this song features a turtle couple as well as a young boy that adores his turtle. In my video, the tie-dye green dresses that the female dancers wear have long flowing sleeves, that represent their role of females sea turtles swimming through water. The tie-dye was used because it was popular in the early-1970s, a time that gave rise to important legislation like the Endangered Species Act that required that sea turtles be protected. For the other costumes it is the color that has meaning. Green=male sea turtles, brown=environmentalists, gray=shrimp fisherman, dark blue=government scientists, and light blue=change agents.

Channel: Science & Technology
Uploaded: November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am
Author: lekelia

Length: 03:59
Rating: 4.22
Views: 7878

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