Tortuga Beach: A Conservation Effort

by dominicaldays
17.04.10
10:11 AM UTC

Filed in Costa Rica, Costa Rica Beach Front

By Sara Estrada Vaglio, Research Assistant, Playa Tortuga Research and Education Center

Two months ago, the first season of the Marine Turtle Conservation Project in Tortuga Beach, Ojochal, ended. It resulted in the release of 3,434 baby Olive Ridley turtles (Lepidochelis olivacea). During that period, various problems affecting marine turtles and their communities became evident. One of them was an illegal settlement on the beach which led to the destruction of the turtle’s natural habitat. The squatters’ attempts to plant crops, also contributed directly to the destruction of the turtle’s natural vegetation.

Big project challenges were the nightly patrols, which were required to protect the adult turtles, since the squatters and some local people illegally poached Olive Ridley Turtle’s nests. This, sadly, is a very common occurrence in the Southern Zone and has had an effect on the country’s marine turtle populations. Sometimes, poaching can reach up to 100% of all hatched turtle babies. It needs to be said that even by natural selection, only one in every thousand turtles every reaches their adult stage. This illustrates the tremendous impact our efforts were about to have.

It’s important that the local population and the authorities get organized to prevent these situations from occurring. The fact that the South Pacific depends heavily on tourism should also be taken into consideration, so we should take care of the natural and human resources that make this area so attractive.

It is important to me to remind you that the illegal establishment of squatting settlements and any commerce with turtle products, such as eggs, are punishable by law. These illegal acts, like the one described above, must be reported to your local city hall or to MINAET (Ministry of Environment, Energy, and Telecommunications). It is also important to expose poaching in different media and community platforms.

If you want to learn more about our project, look up the Playa Tortuga Marine Turtle Conservation Program in Facebook.