WEBVTT

00:00:02.958 --> 00:00:06.166
In memory of Abel Flores Chang

00:00:23.666 --> 00:00:25.541
Anacarsis said

00:00:25.541 --> 00:00:28.083
“There are three types of men:

00:00:28.083 --> 00:00:29.208
the dead

00:00:29.208 --> 00:00:30.458
the living

00:00:30.458 --> 00:00:31.916
and those that live at sea”.

00:00:32.583 --> 00:00:36.160
The latter learned to live in a difficult environment

00:00:36.166 --> 00:00:37.830
strange to their nature

00:00:37.833 --> 00:00:41.708
appreciating its richness till exploiting all its resources

00:00:41.708 --> 00:00:46.041
without considering the great danger that they could cause.

00:00:46.041 --> 00:00:50.916
Some seem to live in control of these elements

00:00:50.916 --> 00:00:54.541
but if one is interrupted by external forces

00:00:54.541 --> 00:00:57.375
they would have to go through a long journey

00:00:57.375 --> 00:01:00.750
to find a new purpose for their existence.

00:01:00.750 --> 00:01:04.416
For those few chosen for that destiny

00:01:04.416 --> 00:01:07.458
life leads them to discover the reason for things

00:01:07.458 --> 00:01:09.541
the origin of their existence

00:01:09.541 --> 00:01:13.791
and the sacred connection between sea and man.

00:01:17.791 --> 00:01:19.041
This is the story

00:01:19.041 --> 00:01:22.208
of five men in Santo Domingo

00:01:22.208 --> 00:01:24.500
who chose to live in the sea.

00:01:24.500 --> 00:01:27.208
But never imagined

00:01:27.208 --> 00:01:31.041
that the sea had chosen to live off of them.

00:01:33.416 --> 00:01:34.750
At Manresa beach

00:01:34.750 --> 00:01:38.291
there live five fishermen that have become an example

00:01:38.291 --> 00:01:41.416
for conservancy in the Dominican Republic.

00:01:43.000 --> 00:01:48.083
the least experienced fisherman, but always willing to do anything.

00:01:49.833 --> 00:01:54.166
the skeptical one of the group, always wants to be right.

00:01:56.000 --> 00:02:01.250
he oldest and the most respected… he has 45 grandchildren.

00:02:04.250 --> 00:02:10.000
The captain of the boat, the most experienced fisherman!

00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:15.791
Is the youngest, he’s of strong character and determination.

00:02:16.500 --> 00:02:18.416
All of them

00:02:18.416 --> 00:02:23.000
are under the supervision of the marine biologist,
Omar Shamir Reynoso

00:02:23.000 --> 00:02:26.583
who implemented an ambitious plan to turn

00:02:26.583 --> 00:02:31.791
some simple fishermen from predators to conservationists.

00:02:32.958 --> 00:02:35.125
Today, they are known as...

00:02:35.125 --> 00:02:39.000
the protectors of the Manresa sea turtles.

00:02:48.291 --> 00:02:53.291
Cacu, a change for life

00:02:55.583 --> 00:03:00.208
The turtles of The Hispaniola

00:03:00.750 --> 00:03:04.541
Of the five marine turtle species that visit The Hispaniola waters

00:03:04.541 --> 00:03:07.375
three make their nests in different beaches of the island.

00:03:10.166 --> 00:03:11.791
The leatherback sea turtle

00:03:11.791 --> 00:03:13.750
is the only living species in the genus Dermochelys

00:03:14.125 --> 00:03:15.500
It is the largest of all

00:03:15.500 --> 00:03:17.375
with a length of approximately two meters

00:03:17.375 --> 00:03:19.708
and it weighs more than 600 kg.

00:03:20.208 --> 00:03:22.875
It is capable of diving more than one kilometer deep

00:03:22.875 --> 00:03:24.916
to feed itself off of jellyfish and salps.v

00:03:24.916 --> 00:03:28.208
It’s categorized as vulnerable to extinction species.

00:03:29.125 --> 00:03:33.333
The green turtle is a big turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae

00:03:33.333 --> 00:03:35.833
the hard shell sea turtles.

00:03:36.583 --> 00:03:40.083
The specie is distributed through the tropical
and subtropical seas of the world

00:03:40.083 --> 00:03:43.250
where they eat marine grass.

00:03:43.250 --> 00:03:46.291
The adults can grow up to 1.60 m in curved carapace length

00:03:46.291 --> 00:03:48.416
and can weight 300 kg.

00:03:49.875 --> 00:03:52.208
It’s categorized as endangered species.

00:03:53.416 --> 00:03:55.875
The hawksbill turtle, although a little less

00:03:55.875 --> 00:03:58.208
it also belongs to the family Cheloniidae

00:03:58.208 --> 00:04:00.000
it’s the most tropical of all

00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:02.250
usually living in the coral reefs.

00:04:03.041 --> 00:04:06.208
The adults can grow up to one meter in shell length

00:04:06.208 --> 00:04:08.625
and can weight 100 kg.

00:04:08.625 --> 00:04:13.625
These are categorized as critically endangered species.

00:04:14.250 --> 00:04:17.666
In general, sea turtles reach their sexual maturity

00:04:17.666 --> 00:04:19.583
between 9 to 15 years

00:04:19.583 --> 00:04:23.666
and can live from 100 to 150 years in a natural state.

00:04:24.083 --> 00:04:26.291
They reproduce every 2 to 4 years

00:04:26.291 --> 00:04:29.208
laying from 3 to 7 nests per season.

00:04:31.833 --> 00:04:33.666
They are excellent swimmers

00:04:33.666 --> 00:04:36.291
traveling thousands of kilometers from their feeding area

00:04:36.291 --> 00:04:38.000
to their reproductive area.

00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:40.208
They posses a great sense of orientation

00:04:40.208 --> 00:04:42.458
generally returning to the same beach

00:04:42.458 --> 00:04:44.750
they were born at to reproduce!

00:04:45.333 --> 00:04:46.666
In the year of nesting

00:04:46.666 --> 00:04:50.083
they deposit between 60 to 200 eggs per nest

00:04:50.083 --> 00:04:51.083
depending on the species.

00:04:51.916 --> 00:04:55.583
The same turtle can lay between 3 to 5 nests during the season

00:04:55.583 --> 00:04:58.541
with incubation periods of approximately 2 months.

00:04:59.375 --> 00:05:01.125
The new born turtles

00:05:01.125 --> 00:05:05.583
make one of nature’s most dangerous journeys to adult life.

00:05:05.583 --> 00:05:07.625
From the moment that they hatch

00:05:07.625 --> 00:05:09.166
and come out to the sand’s surface

00:05:09.166 --> 00:05:11.208
they need to get to the sea as soon as possible

00:05:11.208 --> 00:05:13.333
to avoid being devoured by birds

00:05:13.333 --> 00:05:18.208
crabs, ants, dogs, cats, among other species.

00:05:19.125 --> 00:05:21.500
When at the sea they face hidden dangers

00:05:21.500 --> 00:05:26.250
like predatory fish, fishing nets, plastic garbage...

00:05:26.291 --> 00:05:28.750
they embark on a journey of thousands of kilometers

00:05:28.750 --> 00:05:31.500
in some cases until they reach adult life.

00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:35.125
The estimate is that from 1000 born sea turtles

00:05:35.125 --> 00:05:38.416
only one would possible reach adulthood!

00:05:39.041 --> 00:05:41.375
When growing they face other dangers

00:05:41.375 --> 00:05:44.250
being humans, possibly, their most serious threat.

00:05:44.250 --> 00:05:47.583
In the Hispaniola, many die slayed by fishermen’s harpoons

00:05:47.583 --> 00:05:49.625
or drowned in the fishing nets

00:05:51.375 --> 00:05:53.916
hunted for their meat and shell.

00:05:55.166 --> 00:05:57.625
Their eggs are often stolen from the beaches

00:05:57.625 --> 00:05:59.166
for human consumption

00:05:59.166 --> 00:06:03.375
under the false pretense that they posses aphrodisiac powers.

00:06:03.375 --> 00:06:05.791
In the black market a sea turtle’s eggs can cost

00:06:05.791 --> 00:06:08.958
between 1 and 2 dollars in the Dominican Republic.

00:06:09.791 --> 00:06:12.750
The price of a sea turtle’s nest may vary

00:06:12.750 --> 00:06:17.333
depending on the amount of eggs it has and also the specie.

00:06:17.333 --> 00:06:20.125
The hawksbill turtle, for example, is one of the ones most sought

00:06:20.125 --> 00:06:21.375
because for some reason

00:06:21.375 --> 00:06:23.875
has this famous pretense of being aphrodisiac.

00:06:23.875 --> 00:06:26.250
Nonetheless, we have seen many regions of our country

00:06:26.250 --> 00:06:28.208
where there are hawksbill and also

00:06:28.208 --> 00:06:31.500
the tinglar nests are also very coveted.

00:06:31.500 --> 00:06:38.041
The nest may cost, let\'s say that it has 100 eggs at least...

00:06:38.041 --> 00:06:41.416
it may cost between RD$2,500 to RD$5,000 (US$50 to US$100)

00:06:41.416 --> 00:06:43.666
according to the country’s region

00:06:43.666 --> 00:06:47.083
and as you can see, this is as much as

00:06:47.083 --> 00:06:50.208
a salary of some people in this country.

00:06:50.500 --> 00:06:52.958
In the Haitian capital, in the Petion Ville neighborhood

00:06:52.958 --> 00:06:56.666
sea turtles’ shells are being commercialized on public roads.

00:06:57.333 --> 00:06:58.375
In the neighboring country

00:06:58.375 --> 00:07:00.416
even though the hunting and commercialization

00:07:00.416 --> 00:07:02.166
of turtles and its eggs its prohibited

00:07:02.166 --> 00:07:04.166
the law is not respected.

00:07:05.041 --> 00:07:09.250
In DR, many of the products are being trafficked across the border

00:07:09.250 --> 00:07:11.708
like these confiscated hawksbill shells

00:07:11.708 --> 00:07:15.875
in the border post in Jimani in 2016.

00:07:16.541 --> 00:07:18.250
This shell is very coveted

00:07:18.250 --> 00:07:22.166
for craftsmanship, jewelry and other objects.

00:07:23.250 --> 00:07:24.666
At El Conde Street in Santo Domingo

00:07:24.666 --> 00:07:26.916
it is common to find hawksbill handicrafts

00:07:26.916 --> 00:07:30.000
in spite of reports, complaints and raids to confiscate them.

00:07:31.833 --> 00:07:33.708
The sanctions for this activity are not so severe

00:07:33.708 --> 00:07:36.458
which doesn’t discourage its commercialization.

00:07:37.666 --> 00:07:39.208
In April 2017

00:07:39.208 --> 00:07:42.666
we went to a touristy street of the city of Santo Domingo

00:07:42.666 --> 00:07:44.666
looking for hawksbill handicrafts.

00:07:45.500 --> 00:07:47.208
In the first souvenirs shop we visited

00:07:47.208 --> 00:07:50.833
after distracting the attention seeking interest in other items...

00:07:50.833 --> 00:07:52.791
we asked about what we really were looking for.

00:07:52.791 --> 00:07:56.666
They were killing many animals, you know the hawksbill

00:07:56.666 --> 00:07:58.666
the hawksbill, what is the hawksbill

00:07:58.666 --> 00:08:02.833
The shell and that, that is of the turtle and that, understand?

00:08:02.833 --> 00:08:04.750
The hawksbill in the shell of the turtle.

00:08:04.791 --> 00:08:06.708
But they told me that you sell those here.

00:08:06.708 --> 00:08:09.041
No, we can’t sell those anymore, because the police...

00:08:09.041 --> 00:08:10.458
it’s a problem, man.

00:08:10.458 --> 00:08:13.416
The policemen come and take everything.

00:08:13.416 --> 00:08:15.375
At the beginning, the answer was blunt

00:08:15.375 --> 00:08:17.125
concerning the hawksbill commercialization.

00:08:17.125 --> 00:08:19.166
But then, after persisting for a couple of minutes

00:08:19.166 --> 00:08:21.125
we could have access to the product.

00:08:21.125 --> 00:08:24.625
I have hawksbill, but it is hidden

00:08:24.625 --> 00:08:27.791
because if they come here they take everything.

00:08:27.791 --> 00:08:28.791
I told him. Here are detained

00:08:28.791 --> 00:08:32.916
in the Victoria, you know, in Najayo (DR Jails)... for the next one.

00:08:32.916 --> 00:08:36.958
Even though they are much aware of the risks
of selling this type of product, they do not stop selling it

00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:39.000
although now they sell it in a smaller scale than past years.

00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:40.541
- Which one do you want? The heart-like or this one?

00:08:40.541 --> 00:08:44.750
Before the police comes!

00:08:47.041 --> 00:08:50.375
Indirectly, the human activity affects these species.

00:08:50.375 --> 00:08:52.458
The plastic that floats on the sea confuses the sea turtles

00:08:52.458 --> 00:08:54.833
making them think they’re jellyfish

00:08:54.833 --> 00:08:56.125
and they die suffocated or

00:08:56.125 --> 00:08:58.666
by having a blockage in their respiratory organs.

00:08:58.666 --> 00:09:02.583
The coasts changes, with constructions
and inadequate illumination

00:09:02.583 --> 00:09:05.000
can prevent or hinder the turtles’ nesting

00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:06.875
and mislead its offsprings when they leave the nest.

00:09:07.833 --> 00:09:10.291
Debris deposited or dragged to the beaches

00:09:10.291 --> 00:09:14.041
also represent danger to the mothers, the nest, and the offsprings.

00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:17.916
According to a report on female nesting turtles

00:09:17.916 --> 00:09:21.500
done by the Dominican NGO Jaragua Group, in 2011

00:09:21.500 --> 00:09:24.791
till that date, there were no thorough studies in the country

00:09:24.791 --> 00:09:26.708
no on the conservation and preservation of the species

00:09:26.708 --> 00:09:31.125
its threats and the most important places used for nesting.

00:09:32.416 --> 00:09:34.041
Thanks to these studies

00:09:34.041 --> 00:09:39.500
it has been possible to determine the most important nesting
areas that are left in the Dominican Republic

00:09:39.500 --> 00:09:42.875
These are in the Jaragua National Park
in the southwest of the country

00:09:42.875 --> 00:09:46.833
and in the Saona Island, in the east, in the
Cotubanama National Park.

00:09:46.833 --> 00:09:49.208
Even though the aforementioned places are protected areas

00:09:49.208 --> 00:09:52.958
there has been a strong consumption tradition of these animals.

00:09:53.375 --> 00:09:55.166
The lack of surveillance and control

00:09:55.166 --> 00:09:57.583
has made many places vulnerable.

00:09:57.583 --> 00:10:00.958
about 100% of the nests were stolen.

00:10:00.958 --> 00:10:03.000
Although the predation of the nests was reduced

00:10:03.000 --> 00:10:07.166
from a 72% in 2006 to a 23% in 2010

00:10:07.166 --> 00:10:10.625
in the Jaragua Park the situation is very critical
for the nesting population.

00:10:11.250 --> 00:10:12.958
According to this study, the Saona Island

00:10:12.958 --> 00:10:14.583
the Cotubanama National Park

00:10:14.583 --> 00:10:19.041
is one of the most important places for the nesting of
hawksbill turtles in the Dominican Republic

00:10:19.041 --> 00:10:22.333
and the other two species.

00:10:23.125 --> 00:10:25.833
In the following years the Jaragua Group has been
monitoring the nesting

00:10:25.833 --> 00:10:29.375
we can see no clear sign of an increase of the
female nesting turtles

00:10:27.708 --> 00:10:30.666
According to the Ministry of Environment
of the Dominican Republic

00:10:29.375 --> 00:10:33.125
even though the predation of the nests and
adult animals has decreased.

00:10:37.666 --> 00:10:40.375
in its plan to preserve the sea turtles

00:10:40.375 --> 00:10:45.916
there has been reported the birth of a total of
7,055 turtles in 2016 in all the country…

00:10:45.916 --> 00:10:52.875
what number represents no more than 7 turtles
which may have the chance to achieve a reproductive life!

00:10:47.083 --> 00:10:48.958
The problem is clear:

00:10:56.000 --> 00:10:58.833
the predation of this species, in the Hispaniola

00:10:58.833 --> 00:11:02.916
has progressed a lot faster than its capacity for reproduction.

00:11:02.916 --> 00:11:05.041
Being species of slow development

00:11:05.041 --> 00:11:07.500
it will be up to some years from now

00:11:07.500 --> 00:11:09.250
that we will be receiving adults

00:11:09.250 --> 00:11:13.083
released turtles as part of the beginning
of the protection programs.

00:11:14.125 --> 00:11:15.125
Therefore...

00:11:15.125 --> 00:11:18.458
each nest, every little turtle that reaches the sea

00:11:18.458 --> 00:11:22.166
is of utmost importance the preservation of these species.

00:11:23.500 --> 00:11:26.291
Dr. Yolanda Leon of the Jaragua Group, in 2012

00:11:26.291 --> 00:11:31.416
for the first time reported a hawksbill turtle nesting
in the Guibia beach of Santo Domingo.

00:11:31.416 --> 00:11:34.541
This turtle was marked and baptized with the name of Guibi.

00:11:35.375 --> 00:11:40.000
With this nesting, a sea turtle monitoring program
is initiated in the Dominican capital.

00:11:40.208 --> 00:11:42.541
So with Guiby we were lucky

00:11:42.541 --> 00:11:45.500
that one of the parking workers from here, of the Guibia plaza

00:11:45.500 --> 00:11:49.375
notified one of the students, a former student of mine.

00:11:49.375 --> 00:11:53.708
We came, verified and confirmed the nesting

00:11:53.708 --> 00:11:56.875
and at the same time, counted the days

00:11:56.875 --> 00:11:59.750
and then waited for the turtle to come back out again.

00:11:59.750 --> 00:12:07.291
Any person that has the minimum knowledge
on sea turtles biology could have done it

00:12:07.291 --> 00:12:14.166
But the schedule of them at night, is very
unattractive for some public officials

00:12:14.166 --> 00:12:18.416
or other people that seemed to have been notified about it

00:12:18.416 --> 00:12:22.208
so they decided to not go to the beach.

00:12:22.208 --> 00:12:24.833
So, when we started to visit the beach at night

00:12:24.833 --> 00:12:30.291
we took pictures to show the city and the world
that still in these beaches

00:12:30.291 --> 00:12:34.958
we have incredible animals who are nesting in the dark

00:12:31.625 --> 00:12:34.083
Guiby successfully nested

00:12:34.958 --> 00:12:38.625
despite all the less than ideal conditions here.

00:12:41.083 --> 00:12:46.291
and was declared the sea turtles’ ambassador
in the Dominican Republic.

00:12:47.416 --> 00:12:48.916
Now we know that for generations

00:12:48.916 --> 00:12:52.833
these turtles have been coming to Santo Domingo to nest,
or at least to try to.

00:12:52.833 --> 00:12:56.958
In 2012, the nesting registered was done through media

00:12:56.958 --> 00:13:00.208
and opened a new hope for the conservation of these species.

00:13:01.125 --> 00:13:03.000
A surprise is waiting…

00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:06.875
In June of 2013 the Ministry of Environment received a claim

00:13:06.875 --> 00:13:09.625
from a resident of Manresa beach, through Facebook.

00:13:09.625 --> 00:13:12.500
A neighbor from this place, threatened to go to the media

00:13:12.500 --> 00:13:14.833
if the Ministry did not pay attention to his call.

00:13:14.833 --> 00:13:18.625
He affirmed that leatherback eggs were being vandalized.

00:13:18.625 --> 00:13:23.791
The Ministry assigned one of its biologist
to verify if this complaint was true.

00:13:25.625 --> 00:13:29.916
I arrived to Manresa because of a complaint
done through social media

00:13:29.916 --> 00:13:36.166
that in this beach there was a practice
of looting sea turtle eggs.

00:13:36.166 --> 00:13:42.625
So then we came in a coercive operation

00:13:42.625 --> 00:13:45.833
but then I realized that it didn’t work

00:13:45.833 --> 00:13:53.291
so I changed the strategy by involving the community
in conservation activities.

00:13:56.083 --> 00:14:01.583
Manresa is a poor neighborhood in the west coast
of the National District of Santo Domingo.

00:14:02.250 --> 00:14:06.625
Around five thousand people, the majority in extreme poverty

00:14:06.625 --> 00:14:11.000
live in overcrowded narrow alleys, contaminated,
loud and with extreme delinquency.

00:14:17.083 --> 00:14:19.666
Some live off of fishing to survive

00:14:26.666 --> 00:14:29.083
others work in the nearby dock.

00:14:29.083 --> 00:14:32.250
For Omar it won\'t be easy to enter this world

00:14:32.250 --> 00:14:35.083
where the need to survive will be an obstacle

00:14:35.083 --> 00:14:38.041
to implement a conservation plan in the medium term.

00:14:38.041 --> 00:14:42.208
Look, I found a beach completely filled with plastic

00:14:42.208 --> 00:14:46.791
with no sensibility for the conservation of the natural resources

00:14:46.791 --> 00:14:52.291
and no aptitude to protect them.

00:14:52.291 --> 00:14:55.333
That was a thing that suddenly arrived, nobody was expecting it.

00:14:55.333 --> 00:15:00.083
And as a fisherman we were left without our equipment

00:14:57.291 --> 00:15:01.583
Not because the problem came and occurred because of the eggs

00:15:00.083 --> 00:15:01.958
we were without equipment and we thought

00:15:01.958 --> 00:15:04.291
“Damn it what are we going to do, what are we going to do?”

00:15:08.583 --> 00:15:15.375
and for our bad luck, a fisherman meddled
in something he shouldn\'t have.

00:15:15.375 --> 00:15:20.333
And at that moment the Marine arrived,
the J2 of SENPA, everybody.

00:15:20.333 --> 00:15:23.875
The chincorro was taken away, they took everything and left.

00:15:23.875 --> 00:15:27.625
There we stayed like in a limbo, thinking

00:15:27.625 --> 00:15:32.250
“Damn what are we going to do, what to do,
how do we do it, what can we do.”

00:15:32.833 --> 00:15:38.333
At that moment, I saw a person that worked
in the Ministry and she told me

00:15:38.333 --> 00:15:45.333
“Look, if you wish to solve your problem
or anything else I have the solution; I can help\".

00:15:45.333 --> 00:15:48.583
He gives me the number, I got in touch with that person.

00:15:48.583 --> 00:15:49.791
\"His name is Omar,\"

00:15:49.791 --> 00:15:53.583
I talked to him, I know him, I did not know who he was.

00:15:53.583 --> 00:15:56.541
At first, I was scared, because, imagine

00:15:56.541 --> 00:15:58.166
they were talking about all the fishermen

00:15:58.166 --> 00:16:00.416
what if this is a trick and this man takes me to jail

00:16:00.416 --> 00:16:02.750
without me knowing what am I facing.

00:16:02.750 --> 00:16:06.458
But we got involved, I met him, he was extremely nice

00:16:06.500 --> 00:16:07.875
the best, pretty cool.

00:16:07.875 --> 00:16:10.500
They can do some fishing activities

00:16:10.500 --> 00:16:12.750
but going hand-in with the conservation

00:16:12.750 --> 00:16:15.875
teaching them the importance that the species have

00:16:15.875 --> 00:16:18.666
the importance for their community

00:16:18.666 --> 00:16:22.333
what a turtle represents and what they
can do to protect them

00:16:22.333 --> 00:16:24.541
so we got close, hand in hand.
The fishermen and the beach.

00:16:24.541 --> 00:16:27.166
For us the beach, listen

00:16:28.083 --> 00:16:32.666
after the life of us is our second home... the beach

00:16:33.750 --> 00:16:35.875
The life of a fisherman is a divine life.

00:16:35.875 --> 00:16:36.875
It is good

00:16:36.875 --> 00:16:40.916
because you have many encounters with many people

00:16:40.916 --> 00:16:43.708
that need it at the precise moment.

00:16:46.791 --> 00:16:50.791
I earn my living by fishing

00:16:50.791 --> 00:16:55.250
fishing and when the sea is a little bit turbulent, I go to the docks.

00:16:55.250 --> 00:16:58.708
I have raised my children with the little fishing I do.

00:16:59.250 --> 00:17:02.916
Fishing, is like I tell you, comes in the blood.

00:17:02.916 --> 00:17:04.708
Almost everyone in my family is a fisherman.

00:17:04.708 --> 00:17:08.666
My grandfather on my mother’s side fish,
my uncle on my mother’s side fish as well

00:17:08.666 --> 00:17:12.291
my brother is also a fisherman,
so this just comes in the family, you see.

00:17:14.458 --> 00:17:16.458
Look! so you do not talk, look!

00:17:26.583 --> 00:17:30.541
I think that the type of fishing that is practiced in Manresa

00:17:30.541 --> 00:17:33.291
should be analyzed a little bit more

00:17:33.291 --> 00:17:35.500
but I believe it is not harmful for the sea turtles.

00:17:35.500 --> 00:17:42.375
They use nets that are thrown from the beach
and are picked up immediately

00:17:42.375 --> 00:17:46.625
so if some turtle would be caught it could be rescued.

00:17:46.625 --> 00:17:49.958
The difference from other techniques used in other places

00:17:49.958 --> 00:17:52.958
of soaking nets, is that they can spend many days there.

00:17:52.958 --> 00:17:56.583
In that case the turtles could drown.

00:18:01.333 --> 00:18:04.291
With the beach geomorphological characteristics

00:18:04.291 --> 00:18:08.041
this type of fishing doesn’t make such a big impact.

00:18:12.666 --> 00:18:18.041
Chinchorros is a type of fishing net, and there are different types.

00:18:18.041 --> 00:18:23.666
But in general nets are not prohibited by the fishing law

00:18:23.666 --> 00:18:28.750
except in some areas such as the river mouth, estuaries

00:18:28.750 --> 00:18:31.708
at least according to what is stated in the laws of fishing.

00:18:31.708 --> 00:18:35.166
It was contemplated that there would be places

00:18:35.291 --> 00:18:37.416
in which nets would be restricted

00:18:37.416 --> 00:18:39.833
but unfortunately these places weren’t identified

00:18:39.833 --> 00:18:42.333
at the moment that the law of fishing was established

00:18:42.333 --> 00:18:44.250
so nominally, they are not prohibited.

00:18:44.250 --> 00:18:47.625
The Chinchorro of Manresa

00:19:47.625 --> 00:19:51.458
Keep pulling, keep pulling. Steady, steady!

00:19:51.458 --> 00:19:55.583
They are small, they are between 4 and 5 pounds.

00:20:24.291 --> 00:20:28.041
If you throw a haul with four fishermen

00:20:28.041 --> 00:20:31.958
and each fisherman depending on the amount of money that is made

00:20:31.958 --> 00:20:35.041
you have access to distribute them.

00:20:35.041 --> 00:20:38.625
If you earn 1000 pesos for 4 people

00:20:38.625 --> 00:20:40.958
you have to distribute:

00:20:40.958 --> 00:20:45.916
RD$300 for the owner and RD$150 for each fisherman.

00:20:45.916 --> 00:20:50.250
And it is a 33% is earned by the owner of the fishing equipment.

00:20:50.250 --> 00:20:53.708
An the fishes sometimes take a little and distribute it among them

00:20:53.708 --> 00:20:56.250
and they take it home

00:20:56.250 --> 00:21:02.000
but the issue is distributing the money,
selling the fish to distribute the money

00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:06.833
and each fisherman sells his part and distributes
the money to take it home with them.

00:21:20.083 --> 00:21:25.541
Sometimes it is not easy but sometimes I can not complain.

00:21:25.541 --> 00:21:29.458
because some days are good but some are bad.

00:21:29.458 --> 00:21:34.416
Sometimes the fishing is good. See,
yesterday, it wasn’t that bad, but…

00:21:54.791 --> 00:22:01.208
For 7 years now fishing has been a little slow.

00:22:01.208 --> 00:22:07.291
I don’t know if it is because of the pollution of the sea,
but... it is slow.

00:22:07.291 --> 00:22:12.166
Because before you just had to go to the beach and that was it...

00:22:12.166 --> 00:22:17.416
some fish on the boat and inside the chinchorro.

00:22:23.750 --> 00:22:25.875
It is only a matter of waiting.

00:22:24.541 --> 00:22:30.375
THE FIRST NEST
At this point, it all depends on hoping that the
persuasion measures have been effective.

00:22:25.875 --> 00:22:29.250
No institution is willing to put on a 24-hour guard

00:22:29.250 --> 00:22:31.541
in a poor neighborhood of the Santo Domingo.

00:22:30.375 --> 00:22:34.583
One morning in July, Omar receives a call
from one of the fishermen.

00:22:41.583 --> 00:22:44.166
They have a nest of an unidentified species…

00:22:44.166 --> 00:22:46.083
They weren’t viable

00:22:46.083 --> 00:22:50.208
because they extracted them in a wrong way
and they took them to my office

00:22:50.208 --> 00:22:54.375
so after that, I came to the beach

00:22:54.375 --> 00:22:56.958
and I told them before removing any nest
they should call be before

00:22:56.958 --> 00:22:59.375
because there was a procedure to be followed

00:22:59.375 --> 00:23:03.000
a protocol, that needed to be strictly followed.

00:23:03.000 --> 00:23:07.958
So after that first nest that we handled together

00:23:07.958 --> 00:23:12.208
they started to learn and they started being born.

00:23:12.208 --> 00:23:15.458
At this point an ambitious project begins for the young biologist

00:23:15.458 --> 00:23:17.083
and one that has never been done in the country.

00:23:17.083 --> 00:23:19.875
To choose a group of local fishermen

00:23:19.875 --> 00:23:23.708
that are willing to sacrifice their financial income,
in favor of the conservancy

00:23:23.708 --> 00:23:27.541
and guide them in a process of transformation
from predators to conservationists.

00:23:31.208 --> 00:23:36.208
These five fishermen are the fishermen
who are the most active in the Manresa beach

00:23:36.208 --> 00:23:39.083
and each one of them has a different personality.

00:23:39.083 --> 00:23:44.208
These five were chosen to blend the older ones

00:23:44.208 --> 00:23:48.083
and the ones that had depredation backgrounds.

00:23:50.458 --> 00:23:53.500
I did not know the importance that this had.

00:23:53.500 --> 00:23:59.291
We just took them and drank them and then we boiled them

00:23:59.291 --> 00:24:04.208
and sometimes boiled it and it would take a while to boil
and we never saw that they would harden.

00:24:04.291 --> 00:24:09.500
They would always stay the same,
tender and smooth the way they are.

00:24:09.500 --> 00:24:15.708
Here there was a link that one could sell the eggs

00:24:15.708 --> 00:24:18.375
but we did not know what this was.

00:24:18.375 --> 00:24:22.458
Until one day, a hawksbill turtle nested on the beach shore

00:24:22.458 --> 00:24:25.875
and we saw how the little turtles hatched and went to the water.

00:24:25.875 --> 00:24:29.041
Easily we would raise from RD$2,000 and RD$3,000

00:24:29.041 --> 00:24:31.541
because sometimes we would give a large amount of them.

00:24:31.541 --> 00:24:33.000
Here give me RD$3,000 and take this.”

00:24:33.000 --> 00:24:37.375
It depends on how many people came looking for the eggs,
because many people came looking.

00:24:37.375 --> 00:24:41.250
If we put like 5 to 6 people that actually came to get them...

00:24:41.250 --> 00:24:50.416
let’s say the maximum was 5 people, let’s put a nest
of 200 eggs, they would divide it amongst them.

00:24:51.166 --> 00:24:54.500
Others exist, with the potential to be included in the project

00:24:54.500 --> 00:24:59.125
like Vakero, but with his drinking problem
can be an obstacle for the project.

00:24:59.125 --> 00:25:03.000
However, in this process he is an important element
to accomplish the objectives...

00:25:03.000 --> 00:25:06.875
as long as the levels of alcohol in his blood would allow it.

00:25:06.875 --> 00:25:10.500
Cacu, Canita, Heyri, Ramon and Marcial

00:25:10.500 --> 00:25:15.125
Destiny has chosen them to fulfill a not so easy task.

00:25:15.125 --> 00:25:18.375
Besides the criticism and the attacks
from their neighbors and colleagues

00:25:18.375 --> 00:25:20.583
they will face other risks.

00:25:23.625 --> 00:25:27.833
he sea turtles seek the soft sand to lay their eggs.

00:25:27.833 --> 00:25:31.458
The Manresa neighborhood has a public beach
that’s 180 meters long

00:25:31.458 --> 00:25:34.625
which satisfies the conditions required for nesting.

00:25:36.708 --> 00:25:39.833
But the fuss, lights, dogs, and people

00:25:39.833 --> 00:25:43.208
prevent the turtles from feeling safe to nest in this beach

00:25:43.208 --> 00:25:47.375
even though some few nestings have been
reported in the last 4 years.

00:25:50.416 --> 00:25:53.666
In a nearby area, in front of a quay wall of Haina

00:25:53.666 --> 00:25:57.000
there is a beach that’s 700 meters long,
isolated from the neighborhood.

00:25:57.000 --> 00:26:03.166
Breakwater debris, making it complicated
to the access this beach.

00:26:04.750 --> 00:26:09.458
It is on this beach that the turtles feel safe for nesting.

00:26:09.458 --> 00:26:12.083
A passage that’s 400 meters long

00:26:12.083 --> 00:26:18.291
between rocks, debris, narrow passageways,
where there is barely space for the feet...

00:26:18.291 --> 00:26:22.541
This is the road that these men must take
on a daily basis to remove the turtles’ nest.

00:26:23.416 --> 00:26:25.833
The eggs must be removed for security.

00:26:25.833 --> 00:26:29.166
If they are left in the beach they will be at the mercy of looters

00:26:29.166 --> 00:26:33.708
who are waiting for some absentmindedness
to steal and sell the eggs on the black market.

00:26:33.708 --> 00:26:37.125
Then they are taken to the National Aquarium to be incubated

00:26:37.125 --> 00:26:41.125
and sixty days later they release the
little turtles in this same beach.

00:26:41.958 --> 00:26:45.166
At the end of the afternoon of November 1, 2013

00:26:45.166 --> 00:26:49.166
the biologist Omar Shamir was warned
about a nest deposited at dawn

00:26:49.166 --> 00:26:52.791
which they have zealously cared for
to prevent that it would be robbed.

00:26:52.791 --> 00:26:54.916
Is the fifth nest recovered at the Manresa beach

00:26:54.916 --> 00:26:58.000
and the first one that we could document on video.

00:27:07.833 --> 00:27:13.875
I am a fisherman and I am doing this because of many problems

00:27:13.875 --> 00:27:17.333
hat are happening nowadays with the km 13 fishermen.

00:27:17.333 --> 00:27:22.083
It’s us fishermen, collaborating with the Environment Ministry.

00:27:22.083 --> 00:27:24.125
Really there is no sufficient funding.

00:27:24.125 --> 00:27:27.666
One not only has to make your own effort

00:27:27.666 --> 00:27:32.208
but also make time and economical sacrifices

00:27:32.208 --> 00:27:38.500
even sacrifice family, sacrifice weekends, sacrifice night sleep...

00:27:38.500 --> 00:27:42.708
so then this makes it very difficult and it\'
a very demanding activity.

00:27:42.708 --> 00:27:45.458
After the nest is manipulated

00:27:45.458 --> 00:27:50.208
a bucket and a cooler filled with sand is brought

00:27:50.208 --> 00:27:54.166
that is very heavy, through that land that you need
to be jumping through rocks

00:27:54.166 --> 00:27:59.125
between walls, going through narrow passageways

00:27:59.125 --> 00:28:04.750
steep slopes, in very very very dangerous areas.

00:28:07.333 --> 00:28:11.333
For the biologists it is important that they
continue delivering nests.

00:28:11.333 --> 00:28:14.041
While these men fulfill the work

00:28:14.041 --> 00:28:17.458
Yolanda Leon joins Omar to raise awareness in the community.

00:28:17.458 --> 00:28:21.833
It is very important that everybody understands
the importance to protect these species.

00:28:21.833 --> 00:28:24.458
Both biologists give lectures and others organize other activities

00:28:24.458 --> 00:28:26.916
in the hopes that the entire neighborhood gets involved.

00:28:26.916 --> 00:28:29.333
Yolanda Leon is an extraordinary person

00:28:29.333 --> 00:28:32.916
that has led the country’s most noble environmental
causes of the country

00:28:32.916 --> 00:28:38.375
and the sea turtles is one of these causes.

00:28:38.375 --> 00:28:42.916
She is a person who unselfishly and benevolently gets involved

00:28:42.916 --> 00:28:46.500
in all the conservation activities that she knows of.

00:28:57.083 --> 00:29:02.291
The first release of turtles was made by the
Environmental Ministry and National Aquarium.

00:29:02.291 --> 00:29:04.583
Seeing them reach the sea, for the first time

00:29:04.583 --> 00:29:08.333
starts to create a feeling that these men had never felt...

00:29:10.791 --> 00:29:15.000
deep inside they know that they are doing the right thing.

00:29:44.791 --> 00:29:48.833
It’s been a year since the first nest was delivered

00:29:48.833 --> 00:29:52.291
though there is the suspicion that not
all the nests have been saved from the looting

00:29:52.291 --> 00:29:54.916
the calls made to Omar are every time more frequent.

00:29:54.916 --> 00:29:58.291
To the surprise of biologists, unlike Guibia

00:29:58.291 --> 00:30:00.375
Where only green and hawksbill turtles were reported

00:30:00.375 --> 00:30:07.333
in Manresa, the three species are reported,
which makes this project even more important.

00:30:07.333 --> 00:30:09.875
Cacu: The beginning of the change

00:30:09.875 --> 00:30:12.666
It’s May and only the leatherback turtles are active.

00:30:13.375 --> 00:30:16.458
Two of the men wait by the beach during the night

00:30:16.458 --> 00:30:18.875
for an animal to come out and nest.

00:30:21.750 --> 00:30:24.541
It is 10 at night...and Omar receives a call...

00:30:25.166 --> 00:30:27.125
a turtle is coming out of the water.

00:30:28.083 --> 00:30:30.208
For the biologist it is very important to get to see the animal

00:30:30.208 --> 00:30:34.500
so he can measure it and label it as part
of the protection and supervision program.

00:30:34.916 --> 00:30:40.500
It is May 29 of 2014, it is 11 at night...the rain has ceased.

00:30:40.500 --> 00:30:43.333
They can see in the twilight a big female over the sand

00:30:43.666 --> 00:30:45.416
surrounded by trash and debris.

00:30:45.958 --> 00:30:47.333
She doesn’t seem to care

00:30:47.666 --> 00:30:49.583
her reproductive instincts is stronger.

00:30:50.166 --> 00:30:52.666
We must keep some distance for hours,

00:30:55.791 --> 00:30:58.958
They can verify by slowly approaching with a red light

00:30:58.958 --> 00:31:01.375
her eyes are the sensitive to color.

00:31:01.916 --> 00:31:05.250
While we wait, Omar shares with them
important facts about the species.

00:31:06.208 --> 00:31:08.625
The biologist waits as long as needed.

00:31:08.625 --> 00:31:13.625
His passion for the conservation of these species
goes far beyond than to comply a regular office schedule.

00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:18.083
Meanwhile, the turtle with its enormous fins
makes a whole in the sand.

00:31:18.375 --> 00:31:19.833
During this process she is alert

00:31:19.833 --> 00:31:22.125
anything that makes her feel threatened

00:31:22.125 --> 00:31:23.583
will make her abandon the process

00:31:23.583 --> 00:31:24.583
and return to the sea.

00:31:25.250 --> 00:31:26.875
The time has come when she stays still

00:31:26.875 --> 00:31:28.541
the spawning process has began.

00:31:29.166 --> 00:31:32.541
At this point the turtle falls into a kind of trance

00:31:32.541 --> 00:31:34.208
nothing will stop her.

00:31:34.208 --> 00:31:37.208
Here the biologist can come near without bothering the turtle

00:31:37.791 --> 00:31:40.333
she is focused on depositing the eggs.

00:31:41.083 --> 00:31:42.375
A historical moment!

00:31:42.958 --> 00:31:44.833
For the first time an enormous leatherback turtle is labeled

00:31:44.833 --> 00:31:50.833
being 1.75 meter with the tag EEP066.

00:31:50.833 --> 00:31:53.583
But it has to be baptized with a common name.

00:31:53.583 --> 00:31:57.166
Together with the number it will be registered
in an international database.

00:31:57.583 --> 00:31:59.458
After many proposals

00:31:59.458 --> 00:32:01.166
someone remembers that it is midnight

00:32:01.166 --> 00:32:02.875
and it is Cacu’s birthday.

00:32:02.875 --> 00:32:05.000
Without opposition they decide to call her like that...

00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:07.541
simply Cacu.

00:32:09.625 --> 00:32:12.458
It is dawn and after saying goodbye to Cacu

00:32:12.458 --> 00:32:14.791
the nest is removed and taken to a safe place.

00:32:18.666 --> 00:32:24.958
For the first time I see such a big animal
coming out of the sea like that

00:32:24.958 --> 00:32:27.708
and my partners and Omar

00:32:27.708 --> 00:32:33.625
we got to label her and give her a name, Cacu

00:32:33.625 --> 00:32:37.833
and I feel satisfied thar she has my nickname

00:32:37.833 --> 00:32:41.875
because we caught her at 12 at midnight, My partners and Marvin

00:32:41.875 --> 00:32:44.416
hat were the ones responsible of this

00:32:44.416 --> 00:32:47.625
Omar and the partners that helped me with this

00:32:47.625 --> 00:32:49.666
today she carries the name of Cacu.

00:32:49.666 --> 00:32:53.250
It was a super cool day, we had a great time,
a marvelous moment.

00:32:53.250 --> 00:32:59.208
It was something unbelievable
because really it really made us work.

00:33:03.500 --> 00:33:04.833
Two months later

00:33:04.833 --> 00:33:08.291
Cacu’s little turtles were released in the neighborhood beach.

00:33:08.291 --> 00:33:11.708
An atmosphere of pride and happiness is breathed in the place.

00:33:11.708 --> 00:33:14.250
They could appreciate the complete cycle

00:33:14.250 --> 00:33:15.916
In other words, they saw the turtle

00:33:15.916 --> 00:33:18.708
participated in the process of manipulating the eggs

00:33:18.708 --> 00:33:20.958
and they released the ones that were born.

00:33:20.958 --> 00:33:26.458
So to close that cycle really meant something to them.

00:33:27.750 --> 00:33:30.875
The rescuing of nests and further release of the turtles

00:33:30.875 --> 00:33:33.666
captivate the media and residents of Santo Domingo.

00:33:35.291 --> 00:33:37.833
Manresa becomes a hotspot for nesting

00:33:37.833 --> 00:33:39.958
and our fishermen are recognized

00:33:39.958 --> 00:33:43.541
as the new turtle protectors of the Dominican Republic.

00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:46.791
Not just Cacu was labeled

00:33:46.791 --> 00:33:52.083
each and every one of them was labeled in their minds and hearts.

00:34:05.875 --> 00:34:10.375
Every time that a group of little turtles is going
to be released, the word is spread

00:34:10.375 --> 00:34:13.250
and people come to Manres to live this experience

00:34:13.250 --> 00:34:16.083
that used to be considered only possible in beaches

00:34:16.083 --> 00:34:18.083
that are farway from the Dominican capital.

00:34:18.083 --> 00:34:21.083
Adults and children from different areas and social status

00:34:21.083 --> 00:34:24.041
oin the neighbors of Manresa to celebrate life

00:34:24.041 --> 00:34:27.208
represented in those defenseless animals.

00:34:37.791 --> 00:34:39.708
What should have happened, happened...

00:34:39.708 --> 00:34:44.125
Manresa’s turtles gave these fishermen a fame
that they never imagined.

00:34:44.125 --> 00:34:48.333
In 2015 their dedication inspired a group of visual artists
Muralizing in Manresa. September 12, 2015.

00:34:48.541 --> 00:34:50.625
who got organized to paint a mural in the great wall

00:34:50.625 --> 00:34:53.041
that separates the neighborhood from the Haina’s dock.

00:34:55.166 --> 00:35:00.666
The mural is a part of the 5th Dominican
Enviromental Film Festival

00:35:00.666 --> 00:35:03.125
to represent with local artists

00:35:03.125 --> 00:35:07.000
the conservation and protection activities
that are being developed in the community.

00:35:13.708 --> 00:35:18.000
This communitary activity was directed by the GFFDD

00:35:18.000 --> 00:35:21.250
and a group of local artists called Muralizando.

00:35:21.250 --> 00:35:24.791
where they reflected or communicated through the arts

00:35:24.791 --> 00:35:30.625
how they see the conservation and community
activities or the community and the conservation.

00:35:33.500 --> 00:35:39.541
The most emblematic activities made in the beach
were reflected in this mural

00:35:39.541 --> 00:35:46.833
so they could represent through the arts
what the species mean to them.

00:35:48.708 --> 00:35:51.416
The neighborhood begins to notice the benefits for the first time

00:35:51.416 --> 00:35:53.125
by the work of these men.

00:35:55.458 --> 00:35:59.291
This is part of the social retribution made by the Navy Auxiliaries

00:35:59.291 --> 00:36:01.500
to the local fishermen that collaborated

00:36:01.500 --> 00:36:04.625
in the conservation of the sea turtles, here, at Manresa beach.

00:36:04.625 --> 00:36:08.041
Yes, we are receiving the help from the Environment Ministry

00:36:08.041 --> 00:36:11.375
and we are very happy with this,
with their help they have provided.

00:36:13.125 --> 00:36:17.541
Today they started refurbishing their homes

00:36:17.541 --> 00:36:22.541
providing paint and zinc sheets to shelter the elements.

00:36:22.541 --> 00:36:29.791
Let\'s take care of the environment!
Let\'s take care of the environment!

00:36:40.416 --> 00:36:43.000
These that are here, these five men

00:36:43.000 --> 00:36:45.416
have given part of their lives

00:36:45.416 --> 00:36:47.833
and what could be a business for them

00:36:47.833 --> 00:36:51.500
hey have given it up in benefit of the protection of the sea turtles.

00:36:51.500 --> 00:36:56.125
We have been giving example to the youth.

00:36:56.125 --> 00:36:59.125
the first ones have been my three sons that I have

00:36:59.125 --> 00:37:03.041
and the majority of the young people that are there

00:37:03.041 --> 00:37:08.375
o they keep on doing this that we are doing and
it continues happening tomorrow.

00:37:08.375 --> 00:37:11.125
Even though I am a biologist and everything

00:37:11.125 --> 00:37:15.000
if I am not at the beach 24/7

00:37:15.000 --> 00:37:19.166
the success achieved so far is all thanks to them.

00:37:19.166 --> 00:37:23.541
And we have the courage to go over there at dawn

00:37:23.541 --> 00:37:26.333
to those places that are so dangerous.

00:37:26.333 --> 00:37:29.333
You may say, “Well I am not going through there.”

00:37:29.333 --> 00:37:34.541
It was May 30th at 12 o’clock at night
that we took that animal

00:37:34.541 --> 00:37:38.875
and the blame is on that one and that one

00:37:41.625 --> 00:37:44.291
For the first time they go on National Television.

00:37:45.125 --> 00:37:48.333
his Saturday in One thousand Stories

00:37:48.333 --> 00:37:51.625
some Dominican fishermen tell us their incredible stories

00:37:51.625 --> 00:37:53.833
in the rescue of sea turtles.

00:37:53.833 --> 00:37:56.125
Sometimes we are caught in a rainstorm down

00:37:56.125 --> 00:37:57.166
here and it’s very windy...so much

00:37:57.166 --> 00:37:58.625
one might plead , “Oh God be with us here”.

00:37:58.625 --> 00:38:01.625
Wow, I feel proud protecting them.

00:38:01.625 --> 00:38:05.500
We feel very proud because what we have in our hands is big.

00:38:05.500 --> 00:38:07.708
When my sons are big

00:38:07.708 --> 00:38:10.250
I want them to continue the same story that I am following.

00:38:10.250 --> 00:38:12.416
his and more in One Thousand Stories

00:38:12.416 --> 00:38:17.208
may no one talk about impossible.

00:38:18.583 --> 00:38:20.458
Do you remember Vakero?

00:38:20.458 --> 00:38:22.125
Without a clear explanation

00:38:22.125 --> 00:38:27.041
this fisherman has a nickname of one of the most famous
urban music artists of the Dominican Republic.

00:38:28.833 --> 00:38:32.291
I am a person that if something wrong is done to me
I return with good

00:38:32.291 --> 00:38:36.916
and because of the way I am,
I got my name Vakero.

00:38:45.458 --> 00:38:48.625
Manresa is not the same when Vakero is not present!

00:38:48.625 --> 00:38:51.583
People says that you are the original Vakero?

00:38:51.583 --> 00:38:52.916
Of course, all the time!

00:38:52.916 --> 00:38:58.000
y twist of fate, the popular dominican urban music artist Vakero

00:38:58.000 --> 00:39:00.125
found out that in Manresa beach he has a namesake

00:39:00.125 --> 00:39:01.958
that boasts on having the same artist name.

00:39:03.000 --> 00:39:05.083
I am more famous than the same singer

00:39:05.083 --> 00:39:06.833
- And why are you more famous?

00:39:06.833 --> 00:39:08.500
-They call me Mr. Vakero.

00:39:08.500 --> 00:39:11.625
- So, are you more famous than he is?

00:39:11.625 --> 00:39:12.958
- Of course. A thousand times more.

00:39:12.958 --> 00:39:16.583
He doesn\'t reach me, he was even going to sing for me!

00:39:16.583 --> 00:39:17.708
- What?

00:39:17.708 --> 00:39:19.083
- Of course!

00:39:20.375 --> 00:39:23.958
Applause to Vakero!

00:39:23.958 --> 00:39:27.166
The famous poor Vakero!

00:39:29.291 --> 00:39:33.750
Vakero in addition, knows of the effort these men
have made to protect the turtles’ nests.

00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:37.666
With Omar, a nest release is coordinated.

00:39:38.500 --> 00:39:40.375
where is Vakero?

00:39:40.375 --> 00:39:41.708
Vakero makes a spot in his tight agenda.

00:39:43.833 --> 00:39:46.208
Manresa wasn’t expecting this surprise!

00:40:32.208 --> 00:40:34.791
Earlier a girl said, “Wow! He looks like a peasant”.

00:40:34.791 --> 00:40:37.833
So I would like to add myself to all of those that look like peasants.

00:40:37.833 --> 00:40:43.958
Never in my life have I seen or had a turtle.

00:40:43.958 --> 00:40:51.083
I believe that what these men are doing is worthy
of receiving the support of all of us

00:40:56.291 --> 00:40:58.041
Let’s sing now?

00:40:58.041 --> 00:40:59.708
Of course!

00:40:59.708 --> 00:41:01.375
What song?

00:41:05.416 --> 00:41:07.083
but you have to help me.

00:41:17.000 --> 00:41:22.250
\"The turtles that Vakero released\"

00:41:22.916 --> 00:41:27.750
Negro: From fisherman to fisherman. December 26, 2015

00:41:27.750 --> 00:41:30.250
Pelagio Paulino, better known as Negro

00:41:30.250 --> 00:41:31.875
is a fisherman in the Saona Island

00:41:31.875 --> 00:41:34.250
on the East side of the Dominican Republic.

00:41:34.250 --> 00:41:35.750
As well as the ones in Manresa

00:41:35.750 --> 00:41:39.916
Negro exploited and commercialized sea turtle
products for many years.

00:41:39.916 --> 00:41:44.250
Taking the Manresa fishermen to meet Negro

00:41:44.250 --> 00:41:53.500
the point was to discuss what they were,
where are they headed in the road they are walking

00:41:53.500 --> 00:41:57.583
and how they can achieve their objectives.

00:41:57.583 --> 00:42:00.291
They can also exchange experiences of how to handle things

00:42:00.291 --> 00:42:03.916
since Negro has a lot more experience and they are just starting

00:42:03.916 --> 00:42:08.833
so this interchange between fishermen that are changing

00:42:08.833 --> 00:42:13.708
their ways of thinking for a noble cause of conservation.

00:42:15.041 --> 00:42:18.375
Now we are going to Bayahibe community

00:42:18.375 --> 00:42:23.791
which is an ancient community of fishermen
that now lives from providing tourist services.

00:42:27.375 --> 00:42:33.250
Through time, Negro became one of the top turtle
protectorsof the area in this island

00:42:33.250 --> 00:42:37.750
a magnificent process, that has served as
an example all around the world.

00:42:39.208 --> 00:42:42.333
Has been a successful example of conservationism

00:42:42.333 --> 00:42:45.416
not just for the Dominican Republic, but for the Caribbean region

00:42:45.416 --> 00:42:52.000
of how a person can change from being a predator
to living from the activity of sea turtle conservation.

00:42:52.000 --> 00:42:58.416
He turned his henhouse in a place where
hundreds of sea turtles every year are taken

00:42:58.416 --> 00:43:01.083
that now are visited by thousands of tourists all the year long.

00:43:01.083 --> 00:43:04.500
So Negro, since he is a fisherman the same as them

00:43:04.500 --> 00:43:06.750
can be an example to follow not just by the fishermen in Manresa

00:43:06.750 --> 00:43:10.291
but by all the fishermen nationwide.

00:43:16.958 --> 00:43:18.791
Listening to the testimony of an equal

00:43:18.791 --> 00:43:23.500
can give you an important push in changing
predators into conservationists.

00:43:24.083 --> 00:43:26.000
We are at Saona Island.

00:43:26.000 --> 00:43:27.791
The Saona Island is part of a National Park

00:43:27.791 --> 00:43:31.541
in fact, of the East National Park,
that know is called Cotubanama.

00:43:31.541 --> 00:43:34.125
These people that are living here in these houses

00:43:34.125 --> 00:43:36.875
were people from all the Higuey area...

00:43:38.833 --> 00:43:42.000
Four of the fishermen were taken to an academic trip

00:43:42.000 --> 00:43:44.583
that will make a deep impression on them.

00:43:44.583 --> 00:43:49.416
For three of them, it is one of the
few times they have felt tourists.

00:43:49.416 --> 00:43:52.708
For Canita this experience is even more important

00:43:52.708 --> 00:43:57.250
At 63 years of age, he had never left Santo Domingo.

00:43:57.250 --> 00:44:02.041
So this one we want to keep besides the leatherback

00:44:02.041 --> 00:44:04.166
and the green turtle.

00:44:04.166 --> 00:44:09.208
And this would have not been possible if it is not
with the support of someone that leaves here.

00:44:09.208 --> 00:44:12.791
I have already been introduced...

00:44:16.208 --> 00:44:18.708
You are not just fishermen anymore, ehh…

00:44:18.708 --> 00:44:20.583
I want you to know that we communicate

00:44:20.583 --> 00:44:24.375
Carlos has communicated many of the informations
that you that are already international

00:44:24.375 --> 00:44:28.083
and that is part of your lives

00:44:28.083 --> 00:44:31.458
People can not understand that
it\'s not just climbing a rung

00:44:31.458 --> 00:44:33.583
It\'s staying on top, the problem.

00:44:33.583 --> 00:44:39.291
Before, maybe, I was more a predator
than the predators themselves

00:44:39.291 --> 00:44:41.791
because I even though I was a predator

00:44:41.791 --> 00:44:46.750
I was also wholesaler and a shell collector.

00:44:46.750 --> 00:44:48.916
and the eggs we sold in large quantities.

00:44:48.916 --> 00:44:51.750
We bought, and bought, and we searched for them.

00:44:54.708 --> 00:44:57.875
For the first time, they realize that
they are not alone in this adventure.

00:44:57.875 --> 00:45:02.541
For Negro, it is a reason to be proud
for being an example for these men.

00:45:02.541 --> 00:45:04.708
In this country, nobody cares about anything

00:45:04.708 --> 00:45:07.666
and if we are the ones that are here and that in our hands

00:45:07.666 --> 00:45:10.750
is the thing we don’t care where we go.

00:45:11.916 --> 00:45:18.083
If you do a little program and you start building
being faithful with yourselves

00:45:19.333 --> 00:45:26.000
in 5 to 6 years you are going to have something say,
for sure I tell!

00:45:26.000 --> 00:45:30.208
For example that is a nest of green.

00:45:30.208 --> 00:45:35.500
We collected that nest and we didn’t think they would survive

00:45:35.500 --> 00:45:41.041
but we brought the eggs, and we placed them to be born

00:45:41.041 --> 00:45:43.375
and every one of them is healthy.

00:45:44.041 --> 00:45:50.625
We have broken eggs and placed them
in a zinc sheet to the sun

00:45:50.625 --> 00:45:53.041
and in the afternoon go see what happened

00:45:53.041 --> 00:45:55.708
it melts in that oil.

00:45:55.708 --> 00:45:58.583
So instead of being a viagra ot is colesterol

00:45:58.583 --> 00:46:00.875
for sure all the contrary!

00:46:00.875 --> 00:46:05.166
what you have done in Manresa as a discovery till the moment

00:46:05.166 --> 00:46:07.708
for me has been very flattering.

00:46:07.708 --> 00:46:10.583
Nobody knew that nesting took place there.

00:46:10.583 --> 00:46:13.291
And as time passes by the more

00:46:13.291 --> 00:46:20.500
they will return and multiply even more than before.

00:46:21.541 --> 00:46:28.750
Thank you and Omar who wanted
to bring us here to this session.

00:46:28.750 --> 00:46:31.083
we have taken something very beautiful

00:46:31.083 --> 00:46:35.708
especially getting to know how to prepare a nest

00:46:36.958 --> 00:46:40.958
since Negro is showing us, we take this with a positive attitude

00:46:40.958 --> 00:46:46.916
so the day that it is our turn to do it we do it with discipline.

00:46:46.916 --> 00:46:51.791
There our way of working is kind of difficult, like you say

00:46:51.791 --> 00:46:55.625
especially with the people of the neighborhood

00:46:55.625 --> 00:47:01.875
we have a town on top of us and we have taken sticks,
stones and machete.

00:47:01.875 --> 00:47:05.166
The visit was just as Omar and Yolanda expected it to be

00:47:05.166 --> 00:47:09.416
they are sure that Negro’s contribution
is fundamental for this project.

00:47:09.416 --> 00:47:12.250
The day ends and they need to get back to reality.

00:47:12.250 --> 00:47:14.166
Even though it’s not going to be the same for them anymore.

00:47:14.166 --> 00:47:17.041
They return to Santo Domingo with a clear idea:

00:47:17.041 --> 00:47:19.916
in the near future they want to be like Negro

00:47:19.916 --> 00:47:22.166
the fisherman of the Saona.

00:47:25.333 --> 00:47:27.250
Vulnerable to the elements. September 30, 2016

00:47:27.708 --> 00:47:30.583
On October of 2016, the fourteenth storm
of the season was formed.

00:47:30.583 --> 00:47:32.291
Its name was Matthew.

00:47:32.291 --> 00:47:36.750
A powerful category 5 hurricane threatening the entire island.

00:47:36.750 --> 00:47:41.875
Its path directs it to hit the west part of Haiti with all its force.

00:47:41.875 --> 00:47:46.708
Great part of the Dominican Republic is o
alert to the effects of the phenomenon.

00:47:51.750 --> 00:47:54.458
The night that Matthew passes close to Santo Domingo

00:47:54.458 --> 00:47:59.083
it makes the ferocious sea to hit the Manresa
neighborhood with incredible force.

00:48:05.000 --> 00:48:08.416
The following day the scene looks devastating.

00:48:10.916 --> 00:48:13.666
The fishing, you know, the thing gets difficult now.

00:48:13.666 --> 00:48:18.625
We have to wait for the tide to go down to see if you can fish,
what is there and what isn’t

00:48:20.375 --> 00:48:21.375
imagine.

00:48:21.375 --> 00:48:23.583
This was a disaster, it took everything down.

00:48:23.583 --> 00:48:28.500
We haven’t received not even what they call, a rescuer, nothing

00:48:28.500 --> 00:48:32.166
they have abandoned us.

00:48:32.208 --> 00:48:36.250
Not even the Red Cross to see if people are
sick or needs a hospital, nobody...

00:48:36.250 --> 00:48:41.250
We are since 1 in the morning here dealing with all of this

00:49:37.750 --> 00:49:42.625
I need to tell you that last night I needed to
come out with the boys, to my cousin’s house.

00:49:42.625 --> 00:49:45.458
because the sea came in, making everything wet

00:49:45.458 --> 00:49:48.916
the house, everything you know.

00:49:57.791 --> 00:49:59.916
Marcial is the most affected

00:49:59.916 --> 00:50:02.666
since the seatides drag debris and sand into his house.

00:50:02.666 --> 00:50:07.375
Yes, today I am up since 4 in the morning taking out sand

00:50:07.375 --> 00:50:11.666
all those things, water.

00:50:15.166 --> 00:50:18.541
This is up to here with sand.

00:50:19.541 --> 00:50:21.875
The night was a nightmare...

00:50:21.875 --> 00:50:27.041
Thank God that no lives were affected
but they need help to recover.

00:50:27.041 --> 00:50:30.000
It just took one post in the social medias

00:50:30.000 --> 00:50:32.791
for dozens of people to show solidarity to them.

00:50:32.791 --> 00:50:36.125
In an hour we had collected 500 dollars in cash

00:50:36.125 --> 00:50:39.708
food and other resources to help the affected.

00:50:39.708 --> 00:50:42.291
heir job with the turtles

00:50:42.291 --> 00:50:46.208
is a motivational mean for many that they
don’t even know personally.

00:50:46.208 --> 00:50:49.083
Omar manages the help and in that afternoon

00:50:49.083 --> 00:50:50.750
he arrived to the neighborhood to help.

00:50:50.750 --> 00:50:55.458
Fame has been something that has
impacted them from a very positive way

00:50:55.458 --> 00:50:59.625
because thanks to the conservation activities
that have been published

00:50:59.625 --> 00:51:02.166
in an international or national level

00:51:02.166 --> 00:51:05.500
they have been improving their quality of life

00:51:05.500 --> 00:51:11.791
by selfless third parties, thanking their effort,
that they have done for the sea turtles.

00:51:14.791 --> 00:51:18.041
We brought them food and zinc sheets

00:51:18.041 --> 00:51:23.250
for you that don’t need it give it, to I don’t know, your neighbor

00:51:23.250 --> 00:51:27.541
your partner that needs it, and those who need it put it.

00:51:27.541 --> 00:51:31.291
We feel very good, very thankful

00:51:31.291 --> 00:51:34.291
not just because of the job that we are doing

00:51:34.291 --> 00:51:36.750
but by the people that are helping us

00:51:36.750 --> 00:51:41.125
and really, with this we are going to continue moving forward

00:51:41.125 --> 00:51:44.500
this job of the turtles, this doesn’t end here

00:51:44.500 --> 00:51:46.541
this is just beginning.

00:51:47.541 --> 00:51:49.875
Other neighbors were also benefit with the help.

00:51:49.875 --> 00:51:53.666
This donation goes for a persona that really needs it.

00:51:53.666 --> 00:51:59.708
It is a boy whose wife recently had a newborn baby
and his house in unsheltered.

00:52:34.458 --> 00:52:37.458
Oh no, they are cooperating with us

00:52:37.458 --> 00:52:39.791
and this help that we need right now

00:52:39.791 --> 00:52:41.041
because right now we are affected.

00:52:41.041 --> 00:52:44.166
We thank you for your time and what you have done for us

00:52:44.166 --> 00:52:50.041
and we appreciate the time, and that the help came very fast.

00:52:50.041 --> 00:52:53.000
The people are looking at the hard work that you are doing

00:52:53.000 --> 00:52:58.125
the effort that is simple since we are
being watched in many countries.

00:52:58.125 --> 00:53:00.250
\"Look at that, I know that man\" .

00:53:00.250 --> 00:53:02.416
I have a cousin in New York that just called

00:53:02.416 --> 00:53:07.541
and told me, \"I saw Marcial in a report releasing little turtles,
in the beach in Km 13\".

00:53:17.333 --> 00:53:19.541
So yes Marvin, this morning like around 9

00:53:19.541 --> 00:53:24.333
Vakero and Lion were loading some fish there in a van
January 28, 2017

00:53:24.333 --> 00:53:26.750
and a discussion rose between them

00:53:26.750 --> 00:53:28.708
Lion stabbed him...

00:53:28.708 --> 00:53:31.958
He killed him

00:53:31.958 --> 00:53:35.291
It is an unfortunate case, but...

00:53:37.083 --> 00:53:39.416
The police caught him, and Lion is in jail.

00:53:40.625 --> 00:53:46.083
Well, people let’s give a minute of silence to the poor Vakero

00:53:46.083 --> 00:53:49.041
hat died here, in this spot.

00:53:49.041 --> 00:53:52.166
He was a fisherman of ours, he was crazy about us

00:53:52.166 --> 00:53:57.291
and we treated him like he was, but the situation
shouldn’t have gone this far.

00:53:57.291 --> 00:54:01.958
Till now when we don\'t have him here, but we know where he is.

00:54:01.958 --> 00:54:04.250
May the Lord have him in Glory

00:54:04.250 --> 00:54:06.541
may he be in a good place, since he was crazy.

00:54:06.541 --> 00:54:09.166
Vakero was a very good fisherman

00:54:09.166 --> 00:54:17.083
in spite of his craziness he made us laugh,
and he is truly going to be missed.

00:54:26.625 --> 00:54:29.208
Manresa has lost one of their own

00:54:29.208 --> 00:54:31.958
our fishermen have lost a brother...

00:54:31.958 --> 00:54:36.541
the turtles have lost the 6th man.

00:54:36.541 --> 00:54:39.791
That’s the life of the fisherman

00:54:39.791 --> 00:54:41.125
of the poor

00:54:41.125 --> 00:54:42.791
of the neighborhood...

00:54:42.791 --> 00:54:47.958
A trip to the past

00:54:49.083 --> 00:54:53.583
The Sanabe hole, is a cave were still many preserve the pictures
Aniana Vargas National Park, March 4, 2017

00:54:53.583 --> 00:54:56.666
of the original inhabitants of the Hispaniola: the Tainos.

00:54:56.666 --> 00:54:59.333
Omar, Yolanda and the Manresa turtle protectors

00:54:59.333 --> 00:55:01.125
visit for the first time

00:55:01.125 --> 00:55:04.083
one of the fist and most important anthropological
treasures of the Caribbean

00:55:04.083 --> 00:55:05.750
in the center of the island.

00:55:05.750 --> 00:55:08.625
Thousands of bats are the perpetual guardians

00:55:08.625 --> 00:55:11.291
of one of the murals with one of the biggest taino art of the region.

00:55:11.291 --> 00:55:13.666
Dozens of pictographs that take us back

00:55:13.666 --> 00:55:16.708
to a small fragment of their worldview and environment.

00:55:16.708 --> 00:55:21.291
A long journey through mountains
bringing us here with a purpose…

00:55:21.291 --> 00:55:23.416
At the top of the mural there is a myth

00:55:23.416 --> 00:55:26.333
The Myth. Fray Ramon Pane, 15th Century
a myth of the origin of man.

00:55:26.333 --> 00:55:31.583
Demian Caracaracol, looking before him at his brothers

00:55:31.583 --> 00:55:34.333
he went inside to see if he could find some casabe.

00:55:34.333 --> 00:55:37.958
Caracaracol was entering to the house of Bayamanco

00:55:37.958 --> 00:55:39.500
asked for the casabe.

00:55:39.500 --> 00:55:42.625
And this one placed his hand on his nose

00:55:42.625 --> 00:55:44.500
a threw him a guaguayo to his backside

00:55:44.500 --> 00:55:50.000
which the guanguayo was full of cohoba
that he had made that very same day.

00:55:50.000 --> 00:55:53.625
Caracaracol after this went to his brothers

00:55:53.625 --> 00:55:56.833
and told then what had happened
with Bayamanco in his back

00:55:56.833 --> 00:55:59.083
and how much it hurt…

00:55:59.083 --> 00:56:02.333
And they saw that it was very swollen.

00:56:02.333 --> 00:56:06.333
And taking a stone axe they opened it

00:56:06.333 --> 00:56:09.541
and a live female turtle came out!

00:56:09.541 --> 00:56:14.166
and that is how they built their house and raised the turtle.

00:56:15.500 --> 00:56:17.250
According to the interpretations

00:56:17.250 --> 00:56:19.125
the brothers mated with the turtle

00:56:19.125 --> 00:56:21.791
as a result of that, came the man.

00:56:21.791 --> 00:56:24.375
Well this has been very nice

00:56:24.375 --> 00:56:30.875
till now this has been a great experience that we have had.

00:56:30.875 --> 00:56:36.250
Eh, I felt very good coming for the
first time to this cave, in this country.

00:56:36.916 --> 00:56:39.000
The historical things, history that is here

00:56:39.000 --> 00:56:41.375
there’s something phenomenal here.

00:56:41.375 --> 00:56:48.833
Really we need to pay a little more to attention to this

00:56:48.833 --> 00:56:51.583
and give a lot because there is a lot of history here.

00:56:51.583 --> 00:56:53.458
The hike has been worth

00:56:53.458 --> 00:56:56.916
it because we have seen the image that I wasn’t expecting...

00:56:56.916 --> 00:56:59.958
that I didn’t expect to see

00:56:59.958 --> 00:57:02.416
and I feel very happy to be here

00:57:02.416 --> 00:57:06.458
because I don’t know when I would be able
to see something so beautiful

00:57:06.458 --> 00:57:08.291
such as I was seeing now.

00:57:23.333 --> 00:57:27.875
This cave who inhabitedby the Tainos

00:57:27.875 --> 00:57:32.833
hat had a turtle that today we are moving forward

00:57:32.833 --> 00:57:35.916
taking care of it, right.

00:57:35.916 --> 00:57:37.583
They started

00:57:37.583 --> 00:57:44.208
we are practically their followers of the story
they have carried through.

00:57:44.208 --> 00:57:46.375
They took the turtle to their homes

00:57:46.375 --> 00:57:48.666
on the contrary from us, that you say we can’t do

00:57:48.666 --> 00:57:51.458
but the truth is, we take care for their habitat

00:57:51.458 --> 00:57:53.625
We protect them their home.

00:57:54.291 --> 00:57:57.041
The race to survival

00:57:57.041 --> 00:57:59.000
At the end of 2016, for the first time

00:57:59.000 --> 00:58:03.333
for the first time, the Dominican Republic government starts
the initiative of a medical campaign

00:58:03.333 --> 00:58:06.375
in favor of the conservation of sea turtles.

00:58:06.375 --> 00:58:11.500
It seems that at last, the problem of turtle depredation,
is a priority to the state.

00:58:11.750 --> 00:58:13.458
Let me live!

00:58:13.458 --> 00:58:16.666
However, on a December morning of that same year…

00:58:16.666 --> 00:58:20.208
Manresa’s neighborhood awakens with some terrible news.

00:58:20.583 --> 00:58:22.833
I am not envious, I am not selfish!

00:58:22.833 --> 00:58:24.416
I want everybody to be clear.

00:58:24.416 --> 00:58:27.750
If I would have been another person,
I would have had a meeting right now...

00:58:27.750 --> 00:58:32.583
I would have a meeting right now by myself,
listen, saving my business!

00:58:34.708 --> 00:58:39.083
This morning they received a citation of the
Environmental Procuracy of the Dominican Republic

00:58:39.083 --> 00:58:43.708
where they specify the violations and
that they are facing an imminent evacuation.

00:58:46.333 --> 00:58:49.375
They are going to have to kill us to get us out of here.

00:58:50.625 --> 00:58:54.375
The Law No. 305 establishes the protection
in all the national territory

00:58:54.375 --> 00:58:57.541
of a space of sixty meters between the low water line

00:58:57.541 --> 00:58:59.583
and the high tide line

00:58:59.583 --> 00:59:01.666
called the tides zone.

00:59:01.666 --> 00:59:05.375
Not only for the beaches, but also for the coral reefs coast.

00:59:05.375 --> 00:59:08.458
In addition to the human drama
that this action represents

00:59:08.458 --> 00:59:12.791
also putting at risk the Manresa sea turtle protection program.

00:59:13.500 --> 00:59:16.750
To evict these men from their homes
and throw them on the streets

00:59:16.750 --> 00:59:18.500
would end the work of many years

00:59:18.500 --> 00:59:22.958
and would present a flaw in the Judicial System
of the Dominican Republic:

00:59:22.958 --> 00:59:24.958
Why us?

00:59:24.958 --> 00:59:29.125
There are so many people that
are doing things wrong too, why us?

00:59:29.125 --> 00:59:31.125
Why?

00:59:31.125 --> 00:59:35.958
The tension increases and the audiences arrive.
First hearing. January 13, 2017

00:59:39.625 --> 00:59:41.416
We are here with all the boys

00:59:41.416 --> 00:59:46.541
the neighborhood council, the fishermen, the priest

00:59:46.541 --> 00:59:48.250
to see if we can resolve this problem.

00:59:48.916 --> 00:59:50.625
We have been living there for 22 years

00:59:50.625 --> 00:59:54.000
and it is a shame that the boys will be left without a home

00:59:54.000 --> 00:59:57.041
that we also will be on the streets as a fisherman.

00:59:57.750 --> 01:00:02.333
Even though they are trying to find a
solution through dialogue, the die is cast.

01:00:02.333 --> 01:00:05.750
It is true that the fishermen and other neighbors are at fault

01:00:05.750 --> 01:00:09.166
they are approximately at 45 meters from the coast line.

01:00:09.166 --> 01:00:13.041
Along the coasts of the Dominican Republic
this law is not enforced

01:00:13.041 --> 01:00:16.541
whether it is deliberately by invasion of the 60 meters

01:00:16.541 --> 01:00:21.166
or by permissions granted by the state,
for real estate projects, tourism or business.

01:00:22.416 --> 01:00:26.000
It is sad that in a selective way they
would wish to enforce a law

01:00:26.000 --> 01:00:30.833
to people that are only doing good
and who don’t have anything else.

01:00:30.833 --> 01:00:33.833
In an arbitrary way they have requested our presence
and made us waste out time

01:00:33.833 --> 01:00:37.041
because this argument is not applicable.

01:00:37.041 --> 01:00:40.208
So we are here supporting these men

01:00:40.208 --> 01:00:44.541
who have made a gesture of detachment.

01:00:45.958 --> 01:00:55.250
We as fishermen and community service provider now
have a sea turtle project to protect and care for the turtles.

01:00:55.250 --> 01:01:01.708
We are in charge, we are five fishermen
in charge of these animals.

01:01:01.708 --> 01:01:07.125
We take care of them, we pick up their eggs,
send them to the aquarium so later

01:01:07.125 --> 01:01:10.083
they are born in the aquarium and then released to the sea.

01:01:10.916 --> 01:01:15.583
No, I don’t want to, I mean, that this goes well.

01:01:15.833 --> 01:01:20.625
The Prosecution in the second hearing seems to be
willing to offer you a friendly alternative.

01:01:20.625 --> 01:01:23.500
They demand that the neighborhood gets organized
and form a committee

01:01:23.500 --> 01:01:25.416
to improve the conditions of the beach

01:01:25.416 --> 01:01:28.541
also the fishermen need to get organized in a formal association

01:01:28.541 --> 01:01:33.625
and that there would be periodical inspections
to evaluate the fulfillment of what is agreed upon at the end.

01:01:33.625 --> 01:01:37.708
They have 30 days to present a plan before the authorities.

01:01:37.708 --> 01:01:39.166
Third hearing. March 1, 2017

01:01:39.375 --> 01:01:41.708
Due to the arrival of the last hearing a resolution will be emitted.

01:01:41.708 --> 01:01:46.458
Although a detailed plan was presented that has
already started to be implemented in the neighborhood

01:01:46.458 --> 01:01:48.375
our fear becomes a reality...

01:01:48.375 --> 01:01:51.250
The final decision is that as of March 1, 2017

01:01:51.250 --> 01:01:56.750
they have a year to voluntarily move from the beach
or they will be evicted by force!

01:01:56.750 --> 01:02:00.208
Losing the community means losing the conservation effort

01:02:00.208 --> 01:02:03.458
that has taken place in the last five years with the sea turtles

01:02:03.458 --> 01:02:07.916
and we are going to go back in time
when sea turtles were not saved.

01:02:08.125 --> 01:02:10.875
What we want is simply to keep protecting these animals

01:02:11.291 --> 01:02:14.958
And if they don\'t help us we are leaving this.

01:02:14.958 --> 01:02:16.208
Let them come and get it

01:02:16.208 --> 01:02:20.083
so they see how hard it is to wake up at dawn
and go through all those rocks.

01:02:20.083 --> 01:02:27.583
I would like for the Minister to come one day at a moment
that we are releasing turtles

01:02:27.583 --> 01:02:33.708
so he can see and see the work we do and
the contribution we are making

01:02:33.708 --> 01:02:36.375
and he can see what is being done here at Manresa beach.

01:02:37.000 --> 01:02:40.375
For the neighborhood and the project
this was a hard crushing blow.

01:02:40.375 --> 01:02:42.541
It’s time to intervene.

01:02:42.541 --> 01:02:47.250
We could not remain indifferent in front of such injustice.

01:02:47.250 --> 01:02:51.041
We appeal to the highest officials’ common sense.

01:02:51.041 --> 01:02:54.875
There\'s no need to give too many explanations... it was logical.

01:02:55.625 --> 01:02:58.875
15 meters of sand and rocks without major tourist attractions

01:02:58.875 --> 01:03:03.958
could put at risk the first successful project on sea turtle
conservation in the Dominican Republic

01:03:03.958 --> 01:03:07.916
that involves fishermen, the community,
and the government in a continuously.

01:03:11.583 --> 01:03:14.916
After various meetings and a few phone calls

01:03:14.916 --> 01:03:19.083
neighborhood representatives were summoned
to the Environmental and Natural Resources Ministry

01:03:19.083 --> 01:03:20.458
on a morning in March.

01:03:20.458 --> 01:03:24.083
We are aware of the situation, unfortunately
the process is in an advanced stage

01:03:24.083 --> 01:03:26.666
but the most important thing is that we are here

01:03:26.666 --> 01:03:29.333
opening an effective communication channel.

01:03:30.208 --> 01:03:32.375
I know that you have a committee

01:03:32.375 --> 01:03:35.291
that includes a neighborhood council of the beach where you live.

01:03:35.291 --> 01:03:38.333
It’s not our intention to internalize, it’s not to run you down

01:03:38.333 --> 01:03:40.500
it’s not to take away your means of livelihood.

01:03:40.500 --> 01:03:42.500
And as you said well, we need to support each other

01:03:42.500 --> 01:03:44.083
so that the turtles may continue to spawn there.

01:03:44.708 --> 01:03:49.541
This abuse that they tried, or pretended to do with them

01:03:49.541 --> 01:03:54.875
found in you collaboration.

01:03:54.875 --> 01:03:58.791
To express the gratitude in a personal manner

01:03:58.791 --> 01:04:04.958
in such a receptive way that they received the call

01:04:04.958 --> 01:04:08.833
and the result I believe has been very agreeable.

01:04:08.833 --> 01:04:12.083
I encourage you, you know you have a responsibility

01:04:12.083 --> 01:04:15.875
to not steal eggs, not steal sand, not kill turtles.

01:04:15.875 --> 01:04:19.000
respect the ban season, and from now on

01:04:19.000 --> 01:04:22.250
while Laura is here you will have her support.

01:04:22.916 --> 01:04:26.416
We feel very grateful, really, for this accomplishment.

01:04:26.416 --> 01:04:31.375
Truly because we were really sad because
we were going to lose the area

01:04:31.375 --> 01:04:34.375
but we are happy, really happy indeed.

01:04:34.458 --> 01:04:37.666
We thank you, we thank God that everything turned out alright.

01:04:37.666 --> 01:04:41.041
Really, we go forward, we go forward from here.

01:04:41.875 --> 01:04:45.041
Well, I feel really satisfied for the support that they have given us.

01:04:45.041 --> 01:04:50.333
At least we have the Ministry in compliance with us

01:04:50.333 --> 01:04:53.833
and we thank the lawyers that were here with us

01:04:53.833 --> 01:04:56.250
this lady here, Marvin, Omar and them.

01:04:56.250 --> 01:05:01.000
Well at least we had two lawyers here
because over there we have a lawyer too

01:05:01.000 --> 01:05:04.916
you all know who she is.

01:05:04.916 --> 01:05:07.458
So going forward, we are going to pull through.

01:05:07.458 --> 01:05:10.625
And to succeed, we need to work.

01:05:10.625 --> 01:05:12.333
The project, that in some ways only benefits a few

01:05:12.333 --> 01:05:16.083
is ready to directly impact the entire community.

01:05:16.083 --> 01:05:19.250
It’s no longer a project of five people.

01:05:19.250 --> 01:05:21.958
It’s a project of the community.

01:05:21.958 --> 01:05:24.083
Finally everybody understands…

01:05:24.083 --> 01:05:27.875
Cacu, Ramon, Marcial, Henry and Canita

01:05:27.875 --> 01:05:31.333
they are not seen with distrust by their
neighbors and colleagues.

01:05:31.333 --> 01:05:36.916
They all understand that protecting the turtles
has made a positive impact on the complete neighborhood.

01:05:39.458 --> 01:05:44.875
A relative calm takes over Manresa, and the surprises continue.
May 11, 2017 10:30 p.m.

01:05:44.875 --> 01:05:51.000
The first turtle of the 2017 season slowly reaches out.

01:05:51.000 --> 01:05:55.500
A leatherback decides to nest in front of the homes
that were going to be destroyed.

01:05:55.500 --> 01:05:57.625
For the ones that still don’t sleep in this neighborhood

01:05:57.625 --> 01:06:03.958
this is a great opportunity to live the greatest experiences
that a human being can have.

01:06:03.958 --> 01:06:08.583
When the wild life and man coincide so close to a point

01:06:08.583 --> 01:06:11.583
where there is no predator nor victim…

01:06:11.583 --> 01:06:16.791
where there is only hope, admiration, and respect for life.

01:06:17.666 --> 01:06:21.166
60 days later. June 10, 2017

01:07:17.083 --> 01:07:22.708
For the Manresa residents that road has been well trodden

01:07:22.708 --> 01:07:25.875
here is no more fear nor jitters

01:07:25.875 --> 01:07:29.208
only the will and desire to continue the task commissioned.

01:07:29.208 --> 01:07:31.375
Just as Ramon wished for

01:07:31.375 --> 01:07:36.833
the Environmental Ministry makes
a surprise visit to the neighborhood.

01:07:37.791 --> 01:07:41.291
47 little leatherback turtles were released this afternoon.

01:07:41.291 --> 01:07:46.791
On my behalf, for me Omar was, how can I explain...

01:07:46.791 --> 01:07:50.375
I am going to talk to you like a father,
like a godfather at the same time

01:07:50.375 --> 01:07:53.458
because at the level that we knew him

01:07:53.458 --> 01:07:56.125
and we got attuned, they started to get to know us

01:07:56.125 --> 01:07:58.041
because nobody knew about us.

01:07:58.041 --> 01:08:00.541
We met people we never imagined on knowing

01:08:00.541 --> 01:08:03.333
we could not imagine that they would know us.

01:08:03.333 --> 01:08:08.250
And that they would support us till today,
and have been giving right now.

01:08:10.000 --> 01:08:12.416
You are heroes

01:08:12.416 --> 01:08:15.750
really, a specie that deserves to live

01:08:15.750 --> 01:08:17.916
because they say I also deserve to live

01:08:17.916 --> 01:08:19.875
why do you have to destroy me.

01:08:19.875 --> 01:08:24.416
And I congratulate you, and I appreciate you
because you are the champions here

01:08:24.416 --> 01:08:26.291
and I’m at your service.

01:08:26.291 --> 01:08:29.458
For me it’s an honor, a great honor to be here with you.

01:08:29.458 --> 01:08:32.375
My respects and much respect to you all.

01:08:32.375 --> 01:08:34.041
We want to give you a tour by the houses.

01:08:34.041 --> 01:08:39.625
We live here close by, if you want you can come in right now.

01:08:39.625 --> 01:08:42.708
Let’s go, of course. Ok, let’s go.

01:08:44.875 --> 01:08:47.041
We can rebuild the homes, the five homes

01:08:47.041 --> 01:08:48.875
a little bit more decent, more decent.

01:08:48.875 --> 01:08:53.583
Let’s not leave anybody out from the team.

01:08:53.583 --> 01:08:56.875
That is it, this will be a sidewalk that looks more proper.

01:08:56.875 --> 01:08:59.208
But what we need to is other things

01:08:59.208 --> 01:09:06.250
it to build an exhibition room where people can come and see.

01:09:06.250 --> 01:09:08.625
We have been witnesses in time

01:09:08.625 --> 01:09:12.291
that conservationism and the protection of the environment

01:09:12.291 --> 01:09:16.708
is not circumscribed to an intellectual made aware elite.

01:09:16.708 --> 01:09:19.375
Doing just social media activism

01:09:19.375 --> 01:09:23.458
or coastal clean up every year is not enough.

01:09:23.458 --> 01:09:28.083
It is necessary that the awareness reaches all levels.

01:09:28.083 --> 01:09:30.916
Only breaking the stereotypes and prejudices

01:09:30.916 --> 01:09:35.875
we will be able to transmit love for our ecosystems and its parts.

01:09:36.458 --> 01:09:38.333
There are a lot of Manresas.

01:09:38.333 --> 01:09:41.875
They are just waiting for somebody to be interested enough

01:09:41.875 --> 01:09:47.166
to get to them, not matter the social condition, race or belief.

01:09:47.166 --> 01:09:49.083
The change is possible

01:09:49.083 --> 01:09:51.750
a change of life for a life.

01:09:52.291 --> 01:09:56.166
This huge turtle sends us a powerful message...

01:09:56.791 --> 01:09:58.291
For four years now

01:09:58.291 --> 01:10:00.750
some ordinary fishermen have protected us…

01:10:00.750 --> 01:10:06.458
now it is our turn as turtles to protect them.

01:10:07.000 --> 01:10:12.208
If someone sees a turtle with the tag EEP012

01:10:12.208 --> 01:10:14.666
you should know that is called Vakero...

01:10:15.875 --> 01:10:19.041
in honor of one of the fishermen of Manresa.

01:10:19.833 --> 01:10:21.708
Do not forget.

01:10:21.708 --> 01:10:29.541
Between 2013 and 2017
more than 8,000 neonates of the three
species were released in Manresa

01:10:29.541 --> 01:10:36.958
Since 2015 the protectors of turtles
from manresa receive each one a monthly check
RD $ 7,000 (US $ 150) for their services

01:10:36.958 --> 01:10:43.083
A single nest on the black market
It can cost up to RD $ 10,000 (US $ 220)