bajajudy - 1-30-2005 at 08:04 AM
Today is the last day of the meeting and once again I am amazed at the grass roots response to the problem of a vanishing species. The people here
are from communities all over Baja and many are fishermen who understand the importance of preserving some sort of environment favorable for the
turtles to lay their eggs, those eggs to hatch and then the babies to make it back to the sea(where they face a whole other set of obstacles)
Anyway it had been a great experience and we have met some wonderful people. I highly recommend it.
A Turtle Hugger
i hope the turtle populations
capt. mike - 1-30-2005 at 11:26 AM
come back to the point that commercial "farming" of them for sale and consumption could be achieved. like for salmon and other species farmed raised
in an aquaculture enterprise.
there is nothing like a good turtle steak, but i would not eat one today , not until they are re populated.
yeah......this will pee a lot of people off, but it's the truth so why be deceiving about it?
ursidae69 - 1-31-2005 at 07:42 AM
Cool, glad the conference was well attended by locals. That's encouraging.
Great news on the attendance of fishermen......
Hook - 1-31-2005 at 02:28 PM
.....unfortunately, I think that only the ones predisposed to preserving the turtles would have attended.
It will be important to formulate a plan to appeal to the many fishermen who did NOT attend because they choose to continue to fish for them.
turtle soup
gringorio - 1-31-2005 at 07:35 PM
I was lucky enough to be flown to the 2002 Grupo Tortuguero meeting by Screaming Airlines--What a ride, but we were never offered any in-flight
drinks?
Anyway:
Having participated in sea turtle research north of Loreto I saw first hand both sides of the coin: fishermen eager to help with the
research/conservation and who changed their views on eating sea turtles or selling them on the black market, and those who would not let go their
?right? to capture, kill and eat or sell sea turtles.
One day we were invited to attend a party at which a sea turtle was going to be killed and made into soup. I was allowed to photograph the process as
long as I didn?t photograph anyone?s face. Why? Well, in attendance at this outdoor BBQ were the then ejido president and several prominent
townspeople.
At some point a few days prior to the BBQ, a local fisherman had accidentally caught this sea turtle in his net and instead of releasing it, he chose
to keep it tied up for several days in an old shipping container before cooking it for the BBQ party.
At the party, before the turtle was slaughtered, we did the usual measurements for the study as if it would be released afterward. As we did this we
explained what we were doing and why. We also talked about the species status and what that meant for their long-term outlook. I remember hoping
they would say ok, here, lets take this turtle and release it. But they didn?t.
A steel pipe landed hard on its head and then it was gutted and cleaned. It was clear that the man who did the butchering had done it many times
before, judging by his deftness and skill. The smell was something awful. Some of its meat was then roasted while its head was put in a large pot
along with other ingredients to make the infamous sea turtle soup. When it came time I just could not bring myself to eat any, mostly because of the
smell. I think that the act of refusing the soup made me less respectable to the group.
What I found interesting is that none of these men were starving, poor maybe by US standards, but certainly not lacking for food. They simply wanted
to have a party and eat some sea turtle ? despite knowing the truly endangered status of the species.
From their comments I could tell that they were proud to show me and my coworker how to slaughter and cook sea turtle ? after all, some of their
fathers and grand fathers had made a living by sea turtles when the harvest was still legal. A tradition of sorts.
One comment I remember was from an older man in the group. When the first flipper was cut off the turtle, its blood was captured in a plastic cup.
This cup was passed around and every man drank from it. The older man told me with a wink that the blood of the sea turtle was good for a man?s
virility.
Anyway, these are just some things I think of when I think of sea turtles and Baja. The Grupo Tortuguero meeting in Loreto 2002 that I attended was
filled with fishermen from the Pacific side of Baja, Bahia de los Angeles, and many other places. Seeing the participation and education by all
parties was amazing. While some of them may still illegally kill or sell sea turtles to others, I have to think that the fishermen, scientists and
conservationists have come a long way from the way things used to be.
gringorio
[Edited on 2-1-2005 by gringorio]
Me No - 1-31-2005 at 08:33 PM
Papa Fernandez told me, " when you harpoon a big one, he'll tow you almost all the way to San Felipe".
Lets hope they fix the problem before we have to repopulate it with Pacific stocks.
Gringorio, I need more info on how you live before I judge the men in your STORY.
[Edited on 2-1-2005 by Me No]
gringorio - 1-31-2005 at 09:43 PM
How I live? I've become a 3rd generation rancher, running the family business from (and depending on) the land. I'm also a student of ecology.
I was not asking anyone to judge anyone, me or the people, in the story. I have my own bias as you may see in the story, but I also recognize the
importance of context other than my own. Sometimes I think that there are no answers, only experiences. If we love turtles enough (I.e., the earth),
we?ll make sure that each generation can experience them, just as we do today.
good story Greg
capt. mike - 2-1-2005 at 05:23 AM
traditions die hard, that's for sure. i eat a lot of stuff, if it's legal game and hunted i am adept at butchery.....but i never drank pheasant or
quail blood growing up in the midwest!! had a lot of duck blood spray my jacket once.
Next time you're on Air Baja i'll make sure the attendant gets you a doble!