
New PSA campaign asks children to write to President Obama and Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker
Television star, author, and fashion designer Lauren Conrad stars alongside newly-hatched sea turtles in a PSA campaign released today by ocean conservation non-profit Oceana. Conrad is joining Oceana’s campaign, launched last week, which urges the U.S. government to take action to protect endangered sea turtles in its southeast shrimp trawl fishery.

Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles, featured in the PSAs, are the smallest and most endangered species of sea turtle. Oceana and Lauren Conrad are working to address the biggest threat to their survival at sea – incidental capture in fishing gear. This unintended capture, known as bycatch, could kill an estimated 50,000 endangered and threatened sea turtles every year. All consequently in the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. That’s with Kemp’s constituting 82 percent of those killed.
Oceana is seeking a requirement for all shrimp trawlers in the southeast shrimp trawl fishery. All to use Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs). These are specialized metal grates inserted in trawl nets that allow captured sea turtles to escape.

“I feel so lucky that I had a chance to witness the hatching of these sea turtles,” Lauren Conrad said. “These incredible animals deserve our protection and respect. So it’s encouraging to know that a simple policy change could save thousands of them every year. I encourage everyone to visit Oceana.org/SaveSeaTurtles and take action today.”