As part of a tracking program that began in 2009, a satellite
transmitter is to be attached to the back of one of Cabo’s Olive Ridley Turtles.
The idea is that the transmitter will track the turtle’s
journey as it leaves Cabo after nesting and travels to other feeding grounds.
The Natural Resources and Wildlife will be monitoring and tracking the turtle’s
movements.
It is hoped that the data gathered will throw more light
on the turtle’s movement on the coasts of Sinaloa, Nayarit and Jalisco over a
period of 6-9 months.
But despite all the fantastic turtle conservation
projects, turtle troubles persist in BCS ... Although the current ban on
fishing in the Gulf of Ulloa remains in place dead turtles continue to appear. This
casts doubt on the widely held belief that the nets of local fisherman are the
main cause of turtle mortality.
In fact some local fisherman believe that turtle
mortality has increased since the mining company Oceanic Exploration conducted
assessments for a phosphatic dredging project. PROFEPA state that no probable
causes should be excluded until further studies have been done. The fishing ban
is scheduled to end on 30 September.
And just to complicate matters further, Grupo Tortuguero
de las Californias, claim that according to their figures the discovery of dead
turtles has actually decreased by 80% from 2012 – 2015...
So the debate rages on. The main concerns are to protect the
lives of the sea turtle as well as safeguarding the livelihood of the local fisherman.
The authorities are keen to find the definitive cause in an attempt to prevent
a US fishing embargo.