Te Mana O Te Moana: Rescuing Sea Turtles in French Polynesia

Created in 2004, Te Mana O Te Moana ('ocean spirit') runs French Polynesia's dedicated sea turtle care center, based in a rehabilitation lagoon at the InterContinental Moorea Resort, treating green, hawksbill, olive ridley and loggerhead turtles injured by fishing gear, boat strikes and entanglement. The center has taken in roughly 680 sick or injured turtles since it opened, releasing about half back into the wild once they recover. Since 2011 the association has also run the Observatoire des tortues marines, a nesting-beach monitoring network across French Polynesia's islands and atolls. Alongside its clinical work, Te Mana O Te Moana has welcomed an estimated 150,000 children through its educational programs teaching marine conservation.