The Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles ("IAC") is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the legal framework for countries in the American Continent to take actions in benefit of these species. The IAC entered into force in May of 2001 and currently has sixteen Contracting Parties.

The Convention promotes the protection, conservation, and recovery of the populations of sea turtles and those habitats on which they depend, on the basis of the best available data and taking into consideration the environmental, socioeconomic and cultural characteristics of the Parties (Article II, Text of the Convention). These actions should cover both nesting beaches and the Parties' territorial waters.

2023 MOU

During the Inter-American Sea Turtle Convention (IAC) 16th Consultative Committee of Experts Meeting, Dr. David Freestone, Executive Secretary of the Sargasso Sea Commission, and Verónica Caceres, Executive Secretary for the Inter-American Sea Turtle Convention, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on behalf of the Secretariats of the SSC and IAC.

The objective of the MOU is to provide a framework for collaboration in the work of IAC and SSC in order to promote, within their respective mandates, the more effective conservation of sea turtle species and the habitats that they utilize and upon which they depend, as well as to promote the dissemination of the best available scientific evidence regarding their important ecosystem role.

A draft of the MOU was presented at the 15th IAC Consultative Committee of Experts Meeting in March 2022, and final wording was approved at the IAC 10th Conference of the Parties, which took place in June 2022 in Panama. The Sargasso Sea Commission has maintained a longstanding relationship with IAC, collaborating to develop a 'Concept Note on the importance of Sargassum and the Sargasso Sea for Atlantic Sea Turtles' in 2014.

Download the MOU in English and Spanish here.

2014 Concept Note

In 2014, The Sargasso Sea Commission and the Inter-American Turtle Convention collaborated to develop a Concept Note on the importance of Sargassum and the Sargasso Sea for Atlantic Sea Turtles.

Globally, marine turtles are one of the most threatened groups of animals. The life-history of the marine turtle species in the Atlantic Ocean spans enormous distances and time as turtles hatch and develop into reproductively mature adults over many decades. Despite being the most important stage in development, relatively little empirical research exists on the life-history of neonate turtles in the first several years of their lives in the Atlantic Ocean. Research indicates that within these “lost years” marine turtles remain in the open ocean and rely on Sargassum algae as refugia from predators, and sources of food and warmth. To this end, the Sargasso Sea provides ample Sargassum habitat for the entire population of Atlantic marine turtles until they reach sufficient size to move to neritic feeding grounds in Bermuda and beyond. Further research and collaboration is necessary to build knowledge about how the Sargasso Sea supports marine turtle populations in the Atlantic.