In an attempt
to reduce the mortality rate of loggerhead turtles in the waters of Comondu the
Mexican Government has issued a 4 mon ban on fishing in the Gulf of Ulloa.
The
endangered loggerhead turtles are an unfortunate bycatch in the nets and longlines
of local fisherman as their feeding grounds clash with coastal fishing regions.
This has
been a growing problem over the last 10 years. And the Mexican Government has come
under increasing pressure from environmental groups to rectify the situation.
There has also been serious talk of a US embargo on the import of Mexican
seafood.
SAGARPA (Secretariat
of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food) hope the ban
will help resolve the problem. Although they have stated the aim of the ban is
to demonstrate fishermen have nothing to do with the death of turtles.
To mitigate
the losses that will be incurred by local fisherman the Government has agreed to
fixed levels of compensation.
On an environmental
note, the waters of Baja California Sur are hugely important for the survival
of turtles. Of the seven species of sea turtles in the world, five of them
inhabit the seas of Baja California Sur. Of these, four are considered
ecologically extinct.
Coincidentally,
a Mexican documentary on the preservation of turtles has also hit the headlines
this week. “The Primordial Turtle” was shot on various nesting beaches in Comondu,
La Paz and Los Cabos.
The nesting,
hatching, releasing and conservation elements are all finely documented. But
the film also focuses on the story of Adelita, a turtle that when freed from
captivity was tagged with a transmitter enabling the film crew to follow and her
journey across the Pacific to Japan.
Produced by
Gabriela Kircher and directed by Eduardo Quiroz, the award winning documentary is currently circulating at
international film festivals.
"We have more than 150 hours of material and
we are looking at the possibility of making a television series with these
unreleased recordings, to continue raising awareness about the care and
preservation of turtles." shares the Mexican producer.