Issue 1, 2019
Archie Carr Award
Sea Turtle Conservancy is proud to announce the presentation of the Archie Carr Lifetime Achievement Award to Drs. Anne and Peter Meylan. During his life, Dr. Archie Carr was the world’s leading authority on sea turtles. Through his research, he discovered much of what we know today about sea turtle biology and reproductive ecology. As a professor at the University of Florida, he taught generations of young biologists who today fill leading roles in science, education and conservation around the world. As a writer, he informed the world about these amazing animals and made impassioned appeals for their protection. His “Call to Action” on behalf of sea turtles led to the establishment of the Sea Turtle Conservancy as the first organization in the world dedicated to the study and protection of these species. As a lifelong advocate for sea turtles, Archie helped put in place local, national and international laws protecting sea turtles and their habitats. In short, Archie Carr’s life-work helped create the global movement to study and protect sea turtles.
Two decades ago, STC established an award to honor individuals, who, like our founder Archie Carr, have dedicated their lives to the cause of sea turtle research and protection. To date, the award has been presented to just four other individuals (Dr. Clay Frick, Jr., Dr. Llew Ehrhart, Guillermo Cruz and Larry Ogren). It is very much fitting that the award now has been presented jointly to the husband/wife team of Drs. Anne and Peter Meylan. The award fittingly was presented by STC Executive Director, David Godfrey, at a celebratory Gala that took place in Bermuda in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Bermuda Turtle Project.
Anne and Peter have dedicated their lives to the study and protection of sea turtles. As scientific directors of the Bermuda Turtle Project for nearly three decades, they have maintained a level of scientific rigor that has made this an internationally-renowned project. Through the international course on in-water research conducted each year in Bermuda, they have taught and inspired hundreds of young biologists who are now leading conservation efforts in their own countries. For nearly 40 years, they have monitored and protected a population of critically-endangered hawksbill turtles nesting in Panama – a population that is now showing remarkable growth and recovery as a result of their work.
Between them, they have authored nearly two hundred peer-reviewed papers and articles that have expanded the world’s knowledge of sea turtle ecology, migration, feeding ecology, reproductive biology and conservation status. Through their professional careers they have overseen the monitoring and protection of critical nesting sites in the United States; influenced regulatory policies that are helping recover sea turtle populations; and inspired the next generation of sea turtle biologists. They are widely respected by their peers in the international sea turtle conservation community. Like Archie Carr before them, they have made lasting impacts on the study and protection of sea turtles. Therefore, Sea Turtle Conservancy is very proud to include Drs. Anne and Peter Meylan among a select group to have been awarded the Archie Carr Lifetime Achievement Award.