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Report on the Sea Turtle Protection, Conservation and Research Program
of Centro Ecológico Akumal
by Ivan Caballero Gamero
Introduction
The Sea Turtle Protection, Conservation and Research program at Centro Ecológico Akumal carried out several activities throughout the year to achieve the goals set at the beginning of the nesting season: increased community participation and increased awareness of both nature and the conservation activities that seek to protect nesting females, nests and hatchlings. The results obtained, when compared to those from previous seasons, indicate the direction and focus our program must have in the coming years to improve its protection efforts and to ensure positive results.
Acknowledgements
Centro Ecológico Akumal wishes to thank the many individuals who throughout the year supported our program with donations and volunteer work.
Conservation Activities
From 15 April to 15 September, nightly patrols of the beaches were carried out from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. on our beaches. Turtles were identified, measured, examined and, if necessary, marked. The totals for the season are as follow:
56 Caretta caretta (Loggerhead) adult nesting females
49 Chelonia mydas (Green) adult nesting females
Marked and Protected
in situ: 31 C.c., 8 C.m.
in corral: 22 C.c., 21 C.m.
Total eggs hatched: 8,767
3,084 C.m. in corral
821 C.m. in situ
1,874 C.c. in corral
2,788 C.c. in corral
Corral survival rate: 81.27%
in situ survival rate: 90.07%
Environmental Education and Outreach Activities
In May, we hosted a “Sea Turtle Conservation Workshop” for students of the Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco. The following individuals and institutions participated in the event and made it a success:-
Ana Negrete, Xcaret
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Juan Carlos Alvarado, SEDUMA
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Mauricio Aceves, Fundación Ecológica Bahía Príncipe
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Mauricio Bautista, Centro Ecológico Akumal
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Paul Sánchez-Navarro, Centro Ecológico Akumal
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Ivan Caballero Gamero, Centro Ecológico Akumal
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Fernando Muñoz Tenería, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Other talks were also given to students from various universities, including: -
Michigan State
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Community Colleges of Denver
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U. of Southern California at Monterey
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Texas A&M
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Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán
During the nesting season, 86 educational “Turtle Talks” were offered to tourists in our Information Center.
We also initiated a series of training seminars aimed at private and public security organizations in Akumal in an effort to gain their support and increase their participation in monitoring and protection activities.
Numerous activities with local school children also served to educate the youth on sea turtle conservation, as well as the important relationships between marine and terrestrial ecosystems.
A total of 25 volunteers assisted us during the season, three of whom were completing their social service requirement for graduation from university. In addition to the nightly patrols, volunteers also did early morning patrols, identifying any nests missed the night before, picking up trash to help keep our beaches clean, and participating in educational and outreach activities.
For the second year in a row, we were part of the organizing committee for the Sea Turtle Festival in Tulum, which aims to raise awareness of the importance of turtle protection in Quintana Roo, through a series of cultural activities.
Conclusions
Increased protection efforts should be reflected in the results obtained for the season. However, it is also important to understand that external factors, such as increased tourist traffic on the beaches at night, can result in changes in turtle behavior, particularly when increased traffic results in other nuisances such as parties, excessive noise and lighting. Our efforts are hindered when tourists and management show little interest in conservation and are unwilling to cooperate.
Another issues that has affected not only the sea turtle population, but the general state of the environment in Quintana Roo, is the ineffectiveness of government in enforcing environmental law. Every day we see an increase in the number of developers destroying mangrove, reef and jungle to increase their short-term profits, with little regard or interest in the long-term effects of these activities on the biology of the species linked to these ecosystems, such as turtles.
Therefore we must continue, strengthen and expand our educational efforts if we are to have any favorable results in the future.
Report in Spanish
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