Petition to destroy successful conservation effort circulates
A petition is now circulating in Costa Rica calling for the complete ban of the taking and sale of sea turtle eggs. In actuality, it is only legal to take and sell sea turtle eggs in Costa Rica from one beach: Ostional. However, Ostional is the site of an important and highly successful conservation effort that is successful in part because it works in the gray area; providing both for the economy and the conservation of sea turtles. It simply works, for common sense reasons and you can read even more here detailing the choices made to allow some harvest. Once again, idealists continue to attack the program. Do the turtles a favor and DO NOT sign the petition; it will greatly harm the highly successful effort as Ostional. It makes no sense to destroy a successful program.
Turtle News From Around the World
Conservation
Loggerhead Marinelife Center opens new, state-of-the-art hospital facility.
Mexico deploys drones to protect sea turtle nesting grounds.
This turtle, which had survived one attempted poaching incident, wasn’t so lucky a second time.
A Loggerhead Seaturtle was found in the moat around Ft. Pulaski and returned to the ocean.
Arizona Game & Fish Department has more than 40 Desert Tortoises available for adoption.
Ecology
Hunting Island receives one of only a handful of Leatherback Seaturtle nests that will be laid on South Carolina’s beaches each year.
Miscellany
Loggerhead Sea Turtle at Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha turns 20.
Did You Know…
The largest “arribada” recorded in Ostional took place in November 1995, when 500,000 female Olive Ridley Sea Turtle’s came ashore to nest.
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Photo from Costa Rica Star Archives
