AQUA EXPEDITIONS ANNOUNCES ARRIVAL

New York - December 17, 2012: "Aqua Expeditions is thrilled to announce that the first baby turtles from our 'Taricaya Turtle Project' have recently hatched," says Francesco Galli-Zugaro, owner of Aqua Expeditions. "We are proud godparents!"

The Taricaya turtle is an endangered waterturtle that lives on the banks of the Amazon, and since 2008, Aqua Expeditions, a leader in sustainable tourism in the Peruvian Amazon, has collaborated with the Pacaya Samiria National Reserve headquarters to help conserve this species. With this current effort, 11 nests were constructed along with an artificial beach at Aqua Expeditions' embarkation lounge in Nauta. The nests contained 260 eggs in total, which took about two months to hatch. The baby turtles are now being cared for by Aqua Expeditions specialists until they are large enough to be released into the Amazon River, at which point passengers aboard Aqua Expeditions' M/V Aqua and M/V Aria vessels will have the rare opportunity to participate in the process.

This overall method gives Taricaya turtles a 40 percent chance of living full lives - which can span more than 60 years - and has already begun to reverse the threat of their extinction in the area.

For more information, visit: www.aquaexpeditions.com. 

ABOUT AQUA EXPEDITIONS:

In just five years, Aqua Expeditions, founded by Francesco Galli-Zugaro, has become a leader in luxury small ship cruises on the world's greatest rivers. The architecturally-designed, custom-built M/V Aqua and M/V Aria cruise ships brought the first luxury cruise line to the Amazon River in Peru, offering travelers nature-based adventures combined with the comfort and sophistication of 5-star, boutique hotel accommodations and gourmet cuisine. In 2014, building on the growing interest among travelers in small-ship cruising, Aqua Expeditions will launch a third 20-suite cruise ship , the M/V Aqua Mekong, cruising the historic Mekong River in Cambodia and Vietnam.