Ocean Witness María
San José, PeruMaría Inés Ayala Loro lives with her family in San José, a small fishing community in Chiclayo in North Peru. In 2020, María participated in a project facilitated by WWF-Peru to integrate LED lights in fishing nets. This technology decreases the accidental catch of sea turtles and has been successful in different parts of the world. With the community of San José, WWF organised online workshops to capacitate the women of the community in the use of LED lights. In addition, a gender workshop promoting the role of women within fisheries — a very important economic activity in Peru — was organised with the community. For Maria, this was only the beginning.