BajaNomad - Turtle Slaughter

Turtle Slaughter

BajaBruno - 6-24-2009 at 10:56 PM

Maybe this was reported before and I missed it. This from Gene Kira's fishing report, with reporting by Nomad Bill Erhart:

"MAGDALENA BAY SEA TURTLE GRAVEYARD--Sam Bekish's trip to visit the Pacific side of Baja's Isla Magdalena produced an eerie discovery of an estimated 1,000 sea turtle skeletons left on the beach at this spot.

During Bekish's walk of approximately 2 kilometers along the beach, he found 2 or 3 other locations with turtle remains arranged in similar fashion. Bekish made the trip to the island with Capt. Ruben of Puerto Lopez Mateos on May 28, 2009. Said Bill Erhardt of the discovery,

"They rode ATVs south on the east side of the island to Devil's Bend. They walked west across the island to the Pacific at what Ruben thought was about the narrowest point. Sam thinks they were about 10 kilometers south of Puerto Lopez Mateos at that point.

Sea turtles are among the most common by-catch in the nets of commercial fishermen who ply the fertile waters off the Baja Pacific coast. When seiners are working along the coast, bloated corpses dot the seascape and pile up by the thousands along the shoreline of the peninsula and the barrier islands.

On Isla Magdalena, anonymous visitors have arranged the tortuga corpses into graveyards in a silent memorial to the victims of this tragic carnage. PHOTOS COURTESY OF SAM BEKISH AND BILL ERHARDT."

See the second photo sequence: http://www.mexfish.com/mfn/mfn2009/mfn090622/mfn090622.htm

fishbuck - 6-24-2009 at 11:06 PM

Wow, that is hardcore! And very sad.

fishbuck - 6-25-2009 at 01:43 AM

I'm guessing those turtles were in the Biosphere Reserve.
So I'm thinking that this is a "Crime against the Biosphere". The United Nations should prosecute Mexico. This is a crime against the world.
When Mexico accepts the Unesco "Biosphere Preserve" designation, they accept responsibility for the protection of the biodiversity, the turtles.
Those were the world's turtles, your turtles, my turtles, our turtles.
Mexico does not have the right to allow those turtles to be slaughtered like that. They must prevent it! How many other animals were slaughtered. Dolphines? Sharks? Whales?
Someone should go to jail for that. Either the fishermen responsible or the manager of the Biosphere Reserve!
That was a crime!

[Edited on 6-25-2009 by fishbuck]

fishbuck - 6-25-2009 at 02:33 AM

Bump!

ELINVESTIG8R - 6-25-2009 at 04:07 AM

wilderone - 6-25-2009 at 08:28 AM

"Those were the world's turtles, your turtles, my turtles, our turtles"

verdad. this brings tears. after all the attempts at education, the NGOs who dedicate their efforts against atrosities such as this, the successful turtle program at Mag Bay, why is this happening.

Von - 6-25-2009 at 10:36 AM

And of course like always in MEXICO no one knows anything and nothing will be done about this Sometimes I REALLY HATE MY country it shows everyone in the world we are still in the STONE AGE! Thats why I left TJ and brought my familia to the US!

toneart - 6-25-2009 at 10:39 AM

Bump

Quote:

Originally posted by fishbuck
I'm guessing those turtles were in the Biosphere Reserve.
So I'm thinking that this is a "Crime against the Biosphere". The United Nations should prosecute Mexico. This is a crime against the world.
When Mexico accepts the Unesco "Biosphere Preserve" designation, they accept responsibility for the protection of the biodiversity, the turtles.
Those were the world's turtles, your turtles, my turtles, our turtles.
Mexico does not have the right to allow those turtles to be slaughtered like that. They must prevent it! How many other animals were slaughtered. Dolphines? Sharks? Whales?
Someone should go to jail for that. Either the fishermen responsible or the manager of the Biosphere Reserve!
That was a crime!

[Edited on 6-25-2009 by fishbuck]

Lauriboats - 6-25-2009 at 11:04 AM

That makes me sick.

Sharksbaja - 6-25-2009 at 11:43 AM

My hope is that somewhere someone gives a ratsass and is paying attention.

This forum is a huge source for current events and exposes what is happening in real time. There must be someone somewhere that reads these crimes that is in a position of authority to foreward this stuff to those that can act or legislate. They are out there.

These a-holes that come ashore to dress out turtles and shark are of the worst type. Their clandestine operations that take them to the backsides of islands or desolate coves nust be reigned in.

I hope this all ends up on the Feds and protective services desks replete with glossy photos and report. I don't have much confidence in the UN. I think vigilantes might work well in this case. Track and hunt them down, make them pay dearly.

Make a freakin' example out of them. Not like that hogwash turtle bust crap. Where is the justice?

Bajajack - 6-25-2009 at 12:42 PM

What's the going rate for Turtles these day's?

wilderone - 6-25-2009 at 01:12 PM

I sent an email to these addresses calling for action. I attached the article and 2 pics. Please do likewise.

pronatura@pronatura.org.mx; ppatron@profepa.gob.mx; aefl@fonatur.gob.mx; c.secretario@semarnat.gob.mx; infotur@baja.gov.mx; info@wildcoast.net; melpax@hotmail.com; pmarco@ine.gob.mx; rkiy@icfdn.org; info@propeninsula.org; desarrollo@conanp.gob.mx; mspalding@oceanfdn.org; aaron@grupotortuguero.org; chuy@grupotortuguero.org; islas_mx@prodigy.net.mx; servex@conabio.gob.mx; calweb@tnc.org; info@seeturtles.org

This is the Grammar Police talking:

toneart - 6-25-2009 at 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajajack
What's the going rate for Turtles these day's?

Usually an ignorant, insensitive and hostile statement contains gross errors in English language structure...That figures! In this case, the word day is not possessive. It needs to be a plural, without the apostrophe. :mad:

Bajajack - 6-25-2009 at 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by toneart

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajajack
What's the going rate for Turtles these day's?

First of all I asked a legitimate question and pardon me if I made such a terrible typo.

As for ignorance, insensitivity and hostility, take a look in the Mirror you old Fool!

:rolleyes:

flyfishinPam - 6-25-2009 at 02:42 PM

Quote:

Well said and 100% true

Cypress - 6-25-2009 at 02:49 PM

Turtle slaughter. Vaquita slaughter. Reef fish slaughter. There's one term that keeps repeating itself. Forgive me if it's not a happy picture, I didn't take it.

DianaT - 6-25-2009 at 03:04 PM

Quote:

Sad what happened, very sad, but before you start spewing blame and making accusations, please make sure that Madalena Bay is a part of the Biosphere---

While it probably should be, unless it has been added since this map was produced, it is not.

http://www.parkswatch.org/parkprofiles/maps/pamaps/Mexico_large_map.jpg

[Edited on 6-25-2009 by jdtrotter]

richard nauman - 6-25-2009 at 03:18 PM

While not 100% certain, I believe these areas are the result of scientific projects quanitifying mortality in the Bahia Magdelena region. The authors moved dead turtles to centralized areas to avoid double counting during mortality surveys on the beaches.

ProPeninsula, Grupo Tortugero and others have done/are doing a lot of work in the area to protect and restore turtle populations.

A couple of papers the present the results of studies on turtle mortality in the area are available at:
http://www.seaturtle.org/PDF/Gardner_2001_ChelConservBiol.pdf

and

http://web.mac.com/wallacejnichols/wallacejnichols/Research/Entries/2006/1/1_Turtle_mortality_in_Bahia_Magdalena%3A_Biol_Cons.html

fishbuck - 6-25-2009 at 03:18 PM

Maybe not in the Biosphere but I'm sure those turtles are protected by international treaty. And again a guess but I would guess that Mexico is a signee on such treaty. And can be held accountable by international law.
Just a guess.

[Edited on 6-25-2009 by fishbuck]

fishbuck - 6-25-2009 at 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by richard nauman
While not 100% certain, I believe these areas are the result of scientific projects quanitifying mortality in the Bahia Magdelena region. The authors moved dead turtles to centralized areas to avoid double counting during mortality surveys on the beaches.

ProPeninsula, Grupo Tortugero and others have done/are doing a lot of work in the area to protect and restore turtle populations.

A couple of papers the present the results of studies on turtle mortality in the area are available at:
http://www.seaturtle.org/PDF/Gardner_2001_ChelConservBiol.pdf

and

http://web.mac.com/wallacejnichols/wallacejnichols/Research/Entries/2006/1/1_Turtle_mortality_in_Bahia_Magdalena%3A_Biol_Cons.html

If this is true it is probably documented and verifiable.

BajaBruno - 6-25-2009 at 03:21 PM

You are correct, I believe, that Mag Bay area is not part of a World Heritage site, as are some SOC areas and the Pacific whale areas further north. However, Mexico is part of a treaty from eight years ago:

"Countries Join Forces To Protect Endangered Sea Turtles
On October 12, 2000 President Clinton signed the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles (IAC), the first comprehensive international treaty for the protection of endangered sea turtles and their habitats.

To bring the convention into force, the IAC must be ratified by eight countries. Presently, seven nations, Venezuela, Peru, Mexico, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador and the U.S. have ratified it. Under the IAC participating countries agree to conserve sea turtle habitat, protect nesting beaches, limit intentional and accidental capture, prohibit international trade in sea turtles and their products, and support sea turtle research.

The IAC addresses all the major threats to sea turtle survival: accidental and intentional capture, exploitation, and habitat destruction."

Enforcement is always the bugaboo.

DianaT - 6-25-2009 at 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BajaBruno
You are correct, I believe, that Mag Bay area is not part of a World Heritage site, as are some SOC areas and the Pacific whale areas further north. However, Mexico is part of a treaty from eight years ago:

"Countries Join Forces To Protect Endangered Sea Turtles
On October 12, 2000 President Clinton signed the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles (IAC), the first comprehensive international treaty for the protection of endangered sea turtles and their habitats.

To bring the convention into force, the IAC must be ratified by eight countries. Presently, seven nations, Venezuela, Peru, Mexico, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador and the U.S. have ratified it. Under the IAC participating countries agree to conserve sea turtle habitat, protect nesting beaches, limit intentional and accidental capture, prohibit international trade in sea turtles and their products, and support sea turtle research.

The IAC addresses all the major threats to sea turtle survival: accidental and intentional capture, exploitation, and habitat destruction."

Enforcement is always the bugaboo.

Thanks---good information that has some reality behind it. I well imagine that enforcement is also a problem elsewhere. Often the biggest problem with any of those type treaties is the lack of teeth---

While the enforcement is better in our area, the turtles are still, unfortunately, poached for food.

I do wonder, and hope that many of these were from the other researched cited here by Richard Nauman---not that I would not still feel it is tragic, but at least they would not all be very current kills. Interesting articles, BTW

fishbuck - 6-25-2009 at 03:40 PM

Maybe these guys can help:

http://www.seaturtle.org/

fishbuck - 6-25-2009 at 03:43 PM

The treaty:

http://www.seaturtle.org/iac/convention.shtml

fishbuck - 6-25-2009 at 03:45 PM

More treaty info:

http://www.seaturtle.org/iac/intro.shtml

Udo - 6-25-2009 at 03:52 PM

Thanks for posting all the e-mail addresses, WILDERONE. I made a group contact list and I WILL be sending them my feelings on these and other fisheries subject.

fishbuck - 6-25-2009 at 04:06 PM

I sent an email to Seaturtle.org:

We have received the following question:

Category: Inter-American_Convention
Question: There is a massive turtle kill documented on Magdalena Island in Baja California Sur, Mexico. How and to who can this be reported?

fishbuck - 6-25-2009 at 05:04 PM

Another email to seaturtle.org:

We have received the following question:

Category: Inter-American_Convention
Question: What is the penalty if a signer (Mexico) to the IAC allows excessive bycatch kills of seaturtles?

BajaBruno - 6-25-2009 at 10:50 PM

Unfortunately Fishbuck, if you read the treaty you will find that there are no penalties for violating the treaty. It is a "feel good" treaty where all the signature nations get together, sing kumbaya, and talk about how good they are going to be, some with good intentions and some with no intentions whatsoever.

Some countries have good intentions and then their politics change and they have bad or neutral intentions. The treaty is written so that it will be signed, not so that it will be restrictive. The treaty does have certain requirements for shrimp boats (but no enforcement, of course), but none for any other type of net boat. It is designed as sweet talk, not as a blunt instrument.

But, that does not mean that public pressure cannot be put on the signatories. Of course, then there is Shark Norma, so, who knows if anyone in D.F. is listening.

fishbuck - 6-26-2009 at 04:08 AM

Ya man, I know.
But let me tell you something. In 1977 I was a senior in highschool. And I was into "Save the Whales" big time.
I did my term paper on it. And that's the only reason I graduated! I was short a few credits.
But that made all the difference to the whales. Not me , but the 'Whales" movement.
Whales were still commercially hunted back then.
I even went whale watching from Cape Cod. When saw Fin whales. Baja has some too!
So speak out people! Let the world know you care about seaturtles. And whales, dophines, sharks, and even tuna.
Heck even sealions!

Osprey - 6-26-2009 at 08:14 AM

Not much talk about who did it, how and why. Not that simple. Do turtles lay their eggs on that beach? Did the killers get the eggs too or did the turtles die before or during laying the eggs. Were they killed on the shore or in the water? Net boats? Pangas? Where did they sell the meat? Who bought it and at what price? Maybe the turtles were not killed, died of some kind of disease. If the world hopes to find the bad guys on this one I think we need a turtle Joe Friday. Thanks to Wilderone and you others who took the time to highlight this. That's what it will take to get somebody interested in the rest of the story.

wilderone - 6-26-2009 at 08:29 AM

Don't forget about how laws are made. CONCERNED PEOPLE create laws, change laws.

"Were they killed on the shore or in the water? Net boats? Pangas? Where did they sell the meat? Who bought it?"

And some uniform types asking those questions in town, authorities boarding fishing boats offshore, patrolling regularly, might be a first step. Posters with these photos tacked up all over might let the perpetrators know that other people don't like what they're doing.

wilderone - 6-26-2009 at 08:46 AM

not just a treaty:
http://www.seaturtle.org/mtn/archives/mtn89/mtn89p4.shtml

Broad legal protection of sea turtles in Mexico came with an Executive Order issued in 1990 by the Mexican Ministry of Fisheries and the Ministry of Urban Development and Ecology (now SEMARNAP). The legislation states that the Mexican Federal Government strictly prohibits the pursuit, capture, and extraction of any species of sea turtle on any beaches or in any federal waters. Article Three specifically states that: “the specimen of any species of sea turtle incidentally captured...shall be returned to the sea, independent of its physical state, dead or alive.” (DOF, 31 May 1990

Don Alley - 6-26-2009 at 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by wilderone
Article Three specifically states that: “the specimen of any species of sea turtle incidentally captured...shall be returned to the sea, independent of its physical state, dead or alive.” (DOF, 31 May 1990

And that's what's happening. Seiners, and in some areas long liners, are killing turtles. As long as the turtles are not retained the commercial fishermen are within the law.

We have industrial scale fishing to supply our populations with fish, especially tuna. The old methods of jack pole fishing killed no turtles, but produced fewer fish and lower profits. As long as we use current methods to supply fish to markets around the world the turtles are just in the way. At least until the tuna are wiped out.

So, what's next? Mexico is planning to subsidize many more commercial seiners. Mexico has also attempted, through the so-called Shark norma, to expand long line fishing. And Mexico is taking the US to arbitration, claiming unfair trade practices because the tuna from Mexico's dolphin killing seiners are not granted "dolphin safe" labeling in the US. Such labeling could allow increased netting and harvesting of Mexican tuna, and increased "...species of sea turtle incidentally captured... returned to the sea, independent of its physical state, dead or alive.”

Bajajack - 6-26-2009 at 04:40 PM

When has anyone seen a mex fisherman return anything to the sea, they have but one rule.

If it's edible it's sellable.

:rolleyes:

shari - 6-26-2009 at 05:09 PM

well Jack...Juan is mexican and here he is returning a turtle to the sea near Agua Verde after we had a good look at it to determine why it was so weak swimming on the surface.

[Edited on 6-27-2009 by shari]

ElFaro - 6-26-2009 at 09:59 PM

That report and photos of the "Sea Turtle Slaughter" from a MexFish.com submission generates more questions than answers for me. For one how did they come up with the round number of 1000? Did they fan out, recon the area, and count groups of carcasses and then add them up?...nowhere does it say anything like "we each counted groups of carcai and came up with about 800 or so and there were more to count". Secondly the photos don't look like something one would take after riding ATVs down the beach...why are they black and white and why do they look like photos out of mag or text book? They look awful professional for someone who hiked over the dunes to the location. Also no one from the group is in the photos and no landmarks to ID the photo's location. As far as the subject matter in the photos...it looks to me those carcasses have been there for a long time...perhaps years...maybe 10 years or more. It could be a few were dumped there each year by fisherman. The photos don't indicate that we are looking at around a 1000 carcasses. Also the last photo of a turtle with head down in the water...what relevance does that photo have with the story? I'm certainly not apologizing for turtle by-catch kill from nets but something about this report smacks of sensationalism...

Which brings me to the crucial issue here...and that is the veracity of the reports that are posted on MexFish.com. I am not here to bash
Mexfish.com...I occasionally peruse their weekly reports. Mexfish.com gathers and posts fishing reports passed on to them by individuals down
in Baja and else ware. However there is no way for them to independently verify the reports are current and the photos are recent. I have 1st hand knowledge of this. Last year I was camping in Ensenada and decided to check out a sportfishing outfit who takes out Gringos for fishing trips. I drove up, parked, went inside and in front of me was a wall of photos. The photos were of people holding their catch and smiling and all that. The photos were arranged by years and months. So I got info on prices, departure times, boats, etc, etc, and left. After returning to my home from camping I got onto Mexfish.com website and was checking out the fishing report. When I got to the Ensenada section this outfit was giving their report of how the fishing was good the past week and had a photo in there of about 6 people all holding bonito and smiling...the caption read "these people from LA caught these nice bonito at Todos Santos Island". Problem was I recognized the photo from the wall inside the outfitters office and it was taken at least 1 or 2 years prior !! The outfitter simply sent in a report and stuffed in an old photo to drum up business...making it look like those people just went fishing when in fact they went out 2 years prior. I now look at any reports on any website or Forums no matter where they are sourced from with some suspicion so to speak.

fishbuck - 6-26-2009 at 10:34 PM

The photos have names attached. So if you have doubts you could ask them about it.

Don Alley - 6-27-2009 at 06:00 AM

I know Bill and I know Ruben. Good, trusted sources. And I have heard reports of many dead turtles on those beaches for years, from other trusted sources.

But I think that's the dominant response. Deny, excuse, dismiss. Gotta have those cans of tuna, cheap.

nair.jpg - 3kB

wilderone - 6-29-2009 at 09:07 AM

For what it's worth, I received this reply from the Director-SEE Turtles to my email last week:

"Thanks for passing this along and for your desire to help save the turtles of Baja. Our co-founder, Dr. Wallace J. Nichols has been working with a number of groups to solve this problem for years. Unfortunately this is not a new thing and researchers have been counting the turtles washing up at Isla Magdalena and other spots in the region for a while now.

There are a lot of groups working on different aspects of the problem and its a lot more complicated than just arresting a couple of poachers. Many of these turtles die in fishing nets and wash ashore with no real way of knowing where they came from or who is responsible. There are thousands of square miles of oceans and all of the conservation groups and gov't officials can't cover that kind of area with any authority.

Please rest assured that groups like Grupo Tortuguero are working diligently to stop this problem and in many ways are succeeding. Numbers of turtles in the region are actually on the rise again after a very long-term drop. SEE Turtles is working on one aspect of the problem, the lack of alternatives to fishing in the region, by helping to build a market for turtle-based tourism where they become more valuable alive than dead to fishermen and local communities. After one of our initial trips, we led a fundraising campaign that helped to retire fishing gear that was catching hundreds of turtles each year.

There is no silver bullet here but conservation efforts are working and they could use your support. If you would like to donate, a wonderful organization doing great work on this is Grupo Tortuguero, www.grupotortuguero.org."

Brad Nahill
Director, SEE Turtles

BajaBruno - 6-29-2009 at 09:37 AM

Thanks for posting, Wilderone. At least we now know that some conservation organization(s) is aware of the problem and these photos aren't being published in the dark.

Turtle Misfortune

MrBillM - 6-29-2009 at 09:44 AM

Tasting Good.

Wailing about lack of enforcement is ludicrous. The Mexican authorities can't even mount effective enforcement against the Drug trade. To think that they're going to mount any serious campaign against poarchers is silly.

This is the Third-World where scrapping to stay alive is a daily battle for too great a percentage of the population. They tend to be totally unimpressed with Conservation measures so dear to we who are comfortable in our lives.

I remember years ago reading of the extensive destruction being done to the reef systerms in the Philippines by fishermen using explosives to blow the fish to the surface.

People scraping by don't think much about anything else.

toneart - 6-29-2009 at 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by MrBillM
Tasting Good.

Wailing about lack of enforcement is ludicrous. The Mexican authorities can't even mount effective enforcement against the Drug trade. To think that they're going to mount any serious campaign against poarchers is silly.

This is the Third-World where scrapping to stay alive is a daily battle for too great a percentage of the population. They tend to be totally unimpressed with Conservation measures so dear to we who are comfortable in our lives.

I remember years ago reading of the extensive destruction being done to the reef systerms in the Philippines by fishermen using explosives to blow the fish to the surface.

People scraping by don't think much about anything else.

I am not sure that was intentional, but Senor Billum got off a pretty realistic assessment of the situation. It was not racist and it pretty well identified the underlying cause of turtle poaching, netting and conservation in general. :wow:

Good thing this thread wasn't about people slaughter

Dave - 6-29-2009 at 11:33 AM

Probably would have gotten zero response. :rolleyes:

wilderone - 6-29-2009 at 11:41 AM

They overlook the oh so obvious - they're scraping by now, contrasted to the past, where they had turtles, fish, abalone, urchins UNTIL THEY WIPED THEM OUT. Some fishermen are now fully understanding the repercussions of their actions and have come to appreciate the value of conservation, preservation, sustainability; hence, abalone farms, helping with turtle repopulation, self-governing co-ops, adhering to limits/laws. The problems still remain, but the pressure to change had made an impact in the past decade. More recently, as seen in Loreto, town meetings, unionization, more enforcement will hasten preservation and protection. With that model, coupled with the reality of corpses on the beach and more NGOs making noise and showing up, I am hopeful the tide will turn. There are fishing regulations in the South Pacific stating exactly how turtles are to be released when found in fishing nets. The reasons for regulation are the same world-wide - just a matter of time until Mexico catches up. All fisherman strive to make a living from their trade, regardless which country they're from - of course - regulations apply across the board as to the industry - no reason that Mexican fisherman should be exempt. If they fished sustainably in the past generation, there wouldn't be regulations now. The time has come.

wilderone - 6-29-2009 at 11:44 AM

"Good thing this thread wasn't about people slaughter
Probably would have gotten zero response"

It's in off-topic, ad nauseam

Don Alley - 6-29-2009 at 05:51 PM

Illegally poached and eaten turtles remains are not taken to a remote beach for disposal. These were bycatch fatalities, and as far as I know no laws were broken.

"This is the Third-World where scrapping to stay alive is a daily battle."

Third World people scraping by to make a living don't fly helicopters.

These are not poor people's fishing boats:

http://tunaseiners.com/blog/nggallery/page-1073/

24baja - 6-29-2009 at 07:19 PM

Good point Don!

toneart - 6-29-2009 at 09:03 PM

I think it is both, Don: Seiners and poor fishermen scraping to get by.
As Pompano once said, Shrimp boats, Seiners, etc. make good reefs when sunk. Let's organize an underground Greenpeace, without the "peace'. Any former Seals want to join me?

wilderone - 6-30-2009 at 08:02 AM

I also received this reply from Mr. Peckham of ProPeninsula:
(SEE NOTE ABOUT MEETING TODAY AT LOPEZ MATEOS - SHOW UP AND SPEAK OUT)

"Thank you for your heartfelt appeal about the sea turtle graveyard at Playa San Lázaro, BCS Mexico.

The turtles in your foto are primarily loggerhead turtles that died primarily due to accidental bycatch in local fishing gear. Hundreds of carcasses have washed up each of the past six summer fishing seasons due to what are apparently the highest sea turtle bycatch rates documented worldwide. I’ve attached a couple of recent papers offering more detailed information. The high bycatch rates result from the overlap of local fisheries with incredibly high numbers of juvenile turtles that aggregate off BCS to forage their way to maturity.

We launched Proyecto Caguama, a community-based initiative to reduce this bycatch, by building long term partnerships with local fishers to both assess and mitigate the bycatch while maintaining fisheries livelihoods. We have made great progress in co-developing cleaner fishing techniques and alternatives. As a result, bycatch rates have decreased in recent years. See the attached forthcoming book chapter and newspaper clipping in english for some more positive information, though the problem remains.

You write at an auspicious time, Cindi, because tomorrow, Tuesday 30 June, Mexico’s DGVS (Department of Wildlife) is convening a multi-agency and stakeholder meeting in Puerto Lopez Mateos. High ranking representatives from all local fishing cooperatives and fedecoops plus relelvant federal and state agencies will be meeting with the express purpose of addressing fisheries management and bycatch issues in the region.

If you are in the region, one way you could help the problem would be to visit Lopez Mateos to see the graveyard during the summer fishing months and sharing your concern directly with local fishermen. And please send the friends you referred to in your attached note as well.

My best,

Hoyt PECKHAM, PhD
director, proyecto caguama
propeninsula / grupo tortuguero
http://www.propeninsula.org
hoyt@propeninsula.org

bill erhardt - 6-30-2009 at 10:10 AM

Attached is a photo of one of the juvenile tortugas Dr. Pecham refers to in his letter. When I spotted it off Isla Magdelena while fishing last fall I approached it thinking it was probably dead, but it was alive and well.

juv tor.JPG - 45kB

bill erhardt - 6-30-2009 at 10:18 AM

This one, bloated and floating high, was not so lucky having almost certainly encountered either a net of one of the shrimpers plying the area, or of a local fisherman. Such a find in the Sea of Cortez would almost invariably be host to a bonanza of dorado, and the first 30 or 40 I came across when I started fishing outside the island, I approached expecting to fill my fishbox. There is so much similar "floating structure" in the area, however, that a particular corpse is seldom holding fish.

dead tor.jpg - 47kB

wilderone - 6-30-2009 at 10:18 AM

More info from Dr. Peckham:

http://www.int-res.com/articles/esr2008/theme/Bycatch/bycatc...

I understand

Dave - 6-30-2009 at 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by wilderone
"Good thing this thread wasn't about people slaughter
Probably would have gotten zero response"

It's in off-topic, ad nauseam

You consider turtles deserving of your love and protection and humans a nauseating nuisance. :rolleyes:

wilderone - 6-30-2009 at 11:21 AM

"You consider turtles deserving of your love and protection and humans a nauseating nuisance."

um - I believe a reading comprehension problem twisted my post.
People slaughter - the war - politics - blah blah blah is discussed to a nauseating degree - within Off Topic - which is where people go to spout such views - and has nothing to do with Baja CA.
That's not to say that humans on Off Topic can't be a nuisance, or that one can't get nauseous from other humans which can be a nuisance.