Mexico Rescues Over 12,000 Endangered Turtle Eggs
Mexican authorities recovered a total of 12,188 abandoned Golfina turtle eggs along the shores of the Pacific coast states of Michoacan and Oaxaca.
According to a report from News Ghana, Profepa, Mexico's environmental protection agency, oversaw the rescue for the abandoned turtle eggs.
The environmental inspectors joined forces with the Mexican navy for the project, a report from Fox News Latino said. The team recovered two nests and 188 eggs in Mexiquillo and Barra Turpina beaches of Michoacan. An additional 11 nests and about 12,000 eggs were found at the beach of Morro Ayuta in Oaxaca.
After the operations, the recovered eggs were brought to the Mexican Turtle Center for incubation.
An endangered specie, the Golfina turtle is known to be the smallest sea turtle. Michoacan and Oaxaca are both considered to be primary nesting spots for the creature, which is why conservation efforts are being implemented in the area.
The past several months have shown a surge in the efforts of protecting sea turtles and other marine creatures in Mexico. Last September 2015, it was reported that authorities have taken to using drones to spot and identify poachers who prey on the turtle eggs that have become a delicacy in the country.
According to a report from Discovery, the drones were equipped with a GPS system and a camera to better find what locals call "hueveros" or egg robbers. The pair of drones that were first used by the officials were supplied by Mexico's College of Environmental Engineers.
Selling and eating turtle eggs have long been practiced by the Chontal and Zapotec indigenous communities. Although it has been banned since 1990, there are still poachers who hunt for the eggs for its demand.
On the opposite side of the world, over 300 Olive Ridley turtles and a dolphin were found dead along the shore of Puri Beach, India recently, according to Times of India. Dead turtles are not unusual to see washed up by the beach, but the massive number caught the attention of locals.
"This is unfortunate that a large number of Olive Ridley turtles died on the beach," Puri collector Arabinda Agarwal said to the media. "It seemed they were hit by trawlers."
Beach Protection Council of Odisha (BPCO) Jagannath Bastia explained that implementation of the fishing ban during nesting periods are important to keep marine life protected saying, "Trawlers continued to carry out illegal fishing during the ban period due to poor patrolling by marine police and forest authorities."
