Michelle Cazabon-Mannette

I am a Marine Biologist with a PhD from the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine (Trinidad), and am the leading local expert on sea turtle biology and conservation in Trinidad and Tobago. I have received training in sea turtle biology and conservation techniques from the Bermuda Turtle Project and the Barbados Sea Turtle Project. I conducted the first-ever study of foraging sea turtles in Trinidad and Tobago for my PhD thesis “Ecology and use of nearshore foraging sea turtle populations around Tobago, with an emphasis on hawksbills”. This study generated important information about the distribution of sea turtles around Tobago, their exploitation in a local fishery, their economic value to tourists and their genetic links to regional nesting beaches. I provide technical advice to Save Our Sea turtles (SOS) Tobago and am a Director of the NGO SpeSeas. I provide training for government agencies and NGOs on sea turtle biology and sampling techniques, and contribute to the activities of T&T’s National Sea Turtle Task Force as an alternate representative for SOS.

June 2022