Oaxaca records massive death of turtles on its beaches; ask to declare an environmental emergency The last time a similar case was recorded was in February 2016, when the phenomenon of the red tide killed 180 turtles

JANUARY 2, 2020

Oaxaca records massive death of turtles on its beaches; ask to declare an environmental emergency

The last time a similar case was recorded was in February 2016, when the phenomenon of the red tide killed 180 turtles

By SDP NEWS

Luis Castillo began the year with the sighting of at least 100 dead dead turtles floating in the sea. His heart crushed. He counted them on a 10-kilometer route between Boquilla and Ventanilla, Oaxaca.

The last time the boatman saw a similar show was in February 2016, when the phenomenon of the red tide killed 180 turtles, according to official data.

In addition to Luis's sighting, another 40 dead turtles were reported on Mazunte Beach from last December 24 and until the first day of the year 2020. “In the sand the bodies and in the air a stinking smell,” said Gerardo, a witness who for now works in a tourist center.

Although the numbers are close to the total dead turtles reported in 2016 and that it is an endangered species, the authorities have not yet declared the environmental emergency.

"And it could get worse," they say at the Mexican Center of the Turtle and one of the few places that are attending the emergency. and one of the few specialists who are attending the emergency. He prefers to omit his name because the authorities that should attend the emergency have not authorized to give information. For example, Denisse Bermudez, in charge of the office of the Mexican Tortoise Center, is on vacation.

“The females are nesting these days, once they finish they go to the sea to feed. For now pure males have died ”
Centro Mexicano de la Tortuga

Why do turtles die in Mazunte, Oaxaca?
A volunteer for the conservation of the turtle Special
The cause is the phenomenon of red tide, when the sapid - transparent animals with jelly-like appearance - feed on contaminated microalgae. The turtles eat those "salps", become intoxicated and paralyzed. "In the end they die drowned," they conclude.

Luis and other boatmen have given themselves the task of rescuing the turtles they find floating in the sea. In two weeks he has taken 18 copies in critical condition, but only 10 have survived.

"It is necessary that they make a rescue team, that is dedicated to take them out of the sea and cure them," he says in an alarmed tone and proposes as a volunteer, willing to pause his work as a tourist guide and fisherman, and thus put his time and his skills at the service of the brown turtle.

In the Mexican Center of the Turtle they have a single engine that pushes a boat to carry out tasks of search and rescue of the turtles, but it is broken, workers report. They also require gasoline and resources for labor.

In addition, medications such as antibiotics, antihistamines and serums are needed, additionally life jackets to wrap the turtles and float in the pools of the Center while they are detoxified.

Getting what is necessary to deal with the emergency sounds difficult for a center that is “forgotten”, the same worker responds. The institution depends on the National Commission of Protected Areas, but on the Chiapas Region, not Oaxaca, where it is located.

In the streets of Mazunte, San Agustinillo, Zipolite and Puerto Ángel, the turtle is a recurring theme, these days almost everyone has seen a dead turtle floating in the sea or on the beaches.

Visitors to the Mexican Tortoise Center especially attend to see the few who have been rescued wrapped in life jackets or floating on pieces of unicel in the fight for not dying. It is a strange phenomenon in a place where you fight because they live.

In the case of sea turtles, “it is an emergency and a tragedy that only one dies,” concludes Luis.