Sea Turtles: Conservation and Arribada

Sea Turtles include several species: Black, Flatback, Hawksbill, loggerhead,

leatherback, green, Kemp’s Ridley, and Olive Ridley (Pacific Ridley).

For some time, they were

considered valuable animals

in the international wildlife

trade for their skins, shells,

oil, and meat.

The reptiles have declined

for many reasons:

• eyeglasses frames were made from clear hawksbill shell;

• footwear: leather market caused a slaughter of millions of Pacific ridleys;

• expensive cans of green turtle soup: rich countries with sheer taste for

turtle meat almost certainly create a motivation for poor people to destroy

the conservation work of others.

• exploding human population of the tropics brought larger demands for

eggs and meat;

• egg poaching;

• beach developments have been destroying nesting habitats;

• accidentally caught in net by commercial fishers, the turtles died

because they could not return to the surface. They need to breathe air.

• Ignorance about their biology;

ARRIBADA

The very unusual nesting habit of the olive ridley is called arribada.

All at one time, thousands of female turtles come ashore to lay their

eggs. In three or four days, there are millions of turtle eggs on the

nesting beaches. With so many of them, it’s impossible that some females

do not dig where other nests were made earlier.

After about 50 days of incubation, the surviving hatchlings find

their way to the surface.

Unfortunately, during the arribada, with such high concentration of

females and nests at one time and in one place, natural predators of sea

turtle have a feast.

Arribada – Spanish for “arrival”

It takes knowledge and patience to manage an animal which needs at

least 20 years to mature.

Presently, there are special programs implemented to increase population

of the sea turtle.

Some, that had been decimated in the past, are now recovering.

Ecuador, and other countries, sanctioned a reckless harvest that caused

millions of ridleys to be slaughtered for the leather trade.

A special device called turtle excluder has been

introduced to prevent the reptiles from drowning into

the shrimp trawls. Also, if the animal is caught

accidentally, the fishers have been instructed how to

release it unharmed.

To protect them from predators, nest can be covered with screens. Eggs

that are laid too close to water or in eroding areas can be transferred to a

safer place. This is one of many conservation actions that provide jobs for

local people.

Combined efforts to save the species are promising.

There are though still questions to be resolved:

How far can man interact with natural ecology?

Should man protect turtle eggs, and control turtles hormonally so they

would breed?

The purpose of conservation is not only to save species that are of use to

humans, but also to protect the natural mesh of ecological interaction.

Could the sea turtle survive without conservation efforts on our part?

Zolwie morskie

Sea Turtles en francais

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