The whale season in Colombia can also be described as the sea turtle season, as this magnificent species arrives on the beaches of the Colombian Pacific to leave its eggs that, very soon, will become baby turtles.
B-286 Buenaventura, October 30, 2023
In Punta Bonita, Cajambre River, the Mangrove Guardians Association is helping to save sea turtles, thanks to the fact that they have a turtle farm to ensure that the greatest number of eggs hatch. In this way, they have managed to get more than 500 olive ridley and black turtles to the sea, increasing the chances of survival in the Pacific of Valle del Cauca.
“We are on one of the beaches in the community of Punta Bonita, Cajambre River, where we have a turtle farm built by the group, with the support of the CVC. In this place we deposit the eggs of the turtles that we find along the beach and there we monitor them for a month and a half; Two months is the time it takes for them to hatch and when it happens, we release the turtles with the support of the CVC, the children and the community,” said Tania Lucia Díaz Celorio, member of the Mangrove Guardians Association.
There are many factors by which sea turtles and their nesting sites are threatened, the main ones being indiscriminate hunting, coastal erosion and high tides caused by climate change. Therefore, urgent action must be taken to protect them.
In Buenaventura, hope for this marine species increases, as awareness-raising in community councils has borne fruit and there is greater interest in the conservation of biodiversity.
For Maryory Márquez, official of the Pacific West Regional of the CVC, “these releases are the result of an environmental education process that the Corporation has been working on since 2019 with groups of fishermen, because they decided to leave behind some not very practices. good at their fishing tasks and work with us in the conservation of sea turtles. This group of people release adult turtles that fall into bycatch and the awareness process has been taken to other communities, where other fishermen bring them turtles when they fall into nets or hooks, so that they can proceed to release them.”
The efforts made in this community are noteworthy, since they were mangrove cutters and now the entire community protects the mangroves, turtles and the biodiversity of its territory. They are the ones who have led the release of whale sharks and other species that deserve protection.
Written by: Danna Rachelt Asprilla Mosquera – CVC Communications
Reviewed: Wilson García and Mauricio Guzmán Ferraro – CVC Communications
2023-10-30 19:20:47
#SEA #TURTLE #NEONATES #RELEASED
