Article by: Jessica Solomons
The list of celebrities joining the fight to save the world’s natural fauna and flora is growing, and the latest A-lister lending her star power to a good cause is the gorgeous Kate Walsh from the hit show, Private Practice. While her onscreen character, Dr Addison Montgomery, spends her days saving the lives of human patients, in real life Kate, a huge animal lover, is all about looking after endangered marine life.
In 2009 the actress joined the Oceana team as spokeswoman for the organisation’s Getting Sea Turtles off the Hook campaign. As a native Californian, Kate has always loved the ocean and has been a big supporter of Oceana for many years. “Oceana is one of the biggest and most comprehensive ocean conservation groups in the world. For me, it was always a natural fit. I grew up in northern California and I was always at the beach as a kid, so the ocean is a huge part of my life,” says the star in an interview with Oceana marine biologist, Kerri Lynn Miller.
As spokeswoman for the campaign, Kate is adding a touch of Hollywood glamour to the project, appearing in print, online and TV ads to promote awareness of the species. After a recent trip to the US Virgin Islands to film one of these public service announcements, Kate had the opportunity to swim with the turtles and watch the hatching and nesting of leatherbacks, one of the six species of sea turtles swimming in US waters. Since then the star has become even more determined to do her part to protect the species. “I think one of the most profound things is seeing the leatherback babies, they struggle so much just to be born and to make it to the sea, so I’m hoping that we can at least do our part and ensure that they have a fighting chance once they get in there.”
One way in which Oceana is helping give this species a fighting chance is by lobbying for new legislation to be passed which will reduce sea turtle bycatch and ban the import of seafood products that were caught in fisheries not using bycatch mitigation measures. The biggest danger facing sea turtles, and the main focus of Oceana ‘s campaign, is the absence of Turtle Excluder Devices (TED) on shrimp trawlers and gill nets. Without TEDs, sea turtles are often caught in the nets and drown.
If Kate Walsh has time in her busy Hollywood schedule to campaign for safer, cleaner oceans, we have little excuse not to do more to protect marine life too. So next time you reach order a shrimp cocktail make sure you’re informed about how that food landed on your plate. You’ll not only be helping save marine turtles, but who knows, if ever you run into Kate Walsh, you’ll have a great opportunity to start a conversation!
Some bonus footage from Kate´s trip
Kate Walsh Wants to Save Sea Turtles from Oceana on Vimeo.
The liveeco team
