New Study Highlights ShellBank's Global Impact on Marine Turtle Illegal Trade and Conservation
Tackling the illegal wildlife trade requires innovative, data-driven solutions. A new paper published in Frontiers in Marine Science showcases the rapid growth and impact of ShellBank, the world’s first global marine turtle traceability toolkit.
“ShellBank is turning marine turtle DNA into action,” says Dr Christine Madden, WWF’s Global Marine Turtle Conservation Lead, and ShellBank’s Co-Founder and Director. “Marine turtles migrate across oceans and political borders, so protecting them requires international collaboration backed by good science.”
Having assembled over 20,000 marine turtle DNA records from 59 countries, this unprecedented genetic reference database helps trace seized tortoiseshell products to their source populations, reveals crucial migration links, and supports fisheries management and wildlife crime investigations worldwide.
“Every genetic sample has a story, and ShellBank helps us trace where that story began,” Madden adds.
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About ShellBank
ShellBank is led by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in partnership with the Australian Museum – Australian Centre for Wildlife Genomics, NOAA – Southwest Fisheries Science Center, and TRACE Wildlife Forensics Network. By bringing together multiple organisations, countries and communities to develop a global repository for marine turtle DNA, ShellBank provides a toolkit of operating procedures, capacity building and training packages to guide its uptake and use across the globe, along with advancing scientific development. Shellbank aims to become a vital resource for law enforcement and conservation research. By allowing routine identification of populations most impacted by threats – such as the illegal turtle trade and bycatch – ShellBank can help identify turtle populations that are most at risk and in need of protection.
For media enquiries, contact:
Lim Jia Ling
jllim@wwf.sg | +65 92980961
For more information, please visit www.shellbankproject.org or write to shellbank@wwfint.org.