The CMS/IOSEA Marine Turtle MOU Secretariat extends heartfelt congratulations to Dr Colin ‘Col’ Limpus for being made an Officer of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours on 7 June. He received the award for his “distinguished service to environmental science, particularly to the conservation of sea turtles, and as a mentor of young scientists”.

It is with great sadness that the IOSEA Marine Turtle MOU Secretariat, and indeed the entire Aquatic Species Team of CMS, learned of the passing of Fiona Bartlett, the IOSEA Marine Turtle MOU Focal Point for Australia, on 22 May 2020. Our sincerest condolences go to her family, friends and colleagues.

This is the first issue of a new online series on the biggest threats to sea turtles by State of the World's Sea Turtles (SWOT). This issue has been written by Dr. Nick Pilcher, Marine Research Foundation.

A short film titled "You, come home when I am big" depicting the hazardous first moments in the lives of turtle hatchlings has been produced to coincide with the CMS COP13. The film was made by Ajit Samal who is a celebrated fine art painter has been making wildilfe films and documentaries for over 20 years. Based at Gujarat, he has contributed many productions concerning the conservation of species including the White-backed Vulture, the Asiatic Lion, the Asiatic Wild Ass, the Sarus Crane, Olive Ridley Turtles and the Whale Shark, as well as the Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary and Ramsar site and hte vuklture poisoning crisis.