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Sri Lanka Roadshow 2009

The Roadshow toured the south and west coasts of Sri Lanka in January 2009, working with local ngo Turtle Conservation Project ( TCP ), to raise awareness of the importance of turtle and shark conservation in Sri Lanka. This 3 week roadshow was organised by Marine Conservation Society and funded by Save our Seas Foundation. Each roadshow contained action footage of marine wildlife on dvd and an interactive presentation using lifesize models of Hammerhead Shark, baby Blue Whale, Spinner Dolphin, and Turtle species , and there were often two different schools to visit every day, so it was a busy 3 weeks. 

.....ready to start the show
Introducing the Roadshow
Dvd footage sets the scene.....
....and gets the audience focused on the creatures on display and their marine habitats around Sri Lanka
....in front of a huge audience the Hammerhead Shark tells his story
...in a typical classroom
.....baby Blue is big
Shark posters take the message home, in Sinhalese, saying "Sharks are an important part of the marine ecosystem and need conservation"
And this is what its all about.....raising awareness of the need for shark conservation rather than slaughter
Sharks must be worth more to our planet's marine ecosystem than simply the sum of their dismembered parts!
...and its not just sharks under threat, rays like these juveniles are seen everyday at the fish markets around the coast
....meanwhile, offshore from Mirissa fishmarket, Blue Whales fluking
An appaling example of "fake" conservation, with turtle hatchlings waiting in a bucket for tourists to pay to release them
At Kalpitiya, out on patrol with Turtle Conservation Project officers and surrounded by hundreds of Spinner Dolphins
...far too many to count.