Monterrey students at Cabo's turtle camp
We recently reported on a tracking device that was to be attached
to the back of one of Cabo’s Olive Ridley turtles.
Well the lucky turtle, who has been named “Rayito”, set
off on her travels on Friday afternoon.
Rayito was released by a group of students from Monterrey
who have been working at the turtle camp "Don Manuel Orantes". The
camp is on a protected, patrolled stretch of beach just in front of the Holiday
Inn Hotel.
Biologist Graciela Tiburcio Pintos, head of the
Department of Natural Resources and Wildlife, said
” Satellite tracking
of sea turtles with a transmitter provides a powerful tool to
understand the movements of those animals. It allows us to follow them day by
day, to be aware of their location, the estimated direction and speed of their travel,
and the characteristics of their movements.”
Rayito will be travelling for around 7 months with the satellite.
All the information gathered on her feeding habits and her daily behaviours in
the natural environment will be used to help develop new conservation projects.
The information will also be used in schools as an innovative fun way for kids
to learn about sea turtles.
Friday was definitely a special day for turtles as it
also marked the end of the fishing ban in the Gulf of Ulloa.
The purpose of the ban was to see if the fishermen’s nets
were causing the deaths of the yellow loggerhead turtles. And the United States
were threatening a fishing embargo.
However, it seems that despite the ban, the deaths of the
turtles have continued. Fishermen and others are now demanding a proper
scientific investigation into the deaths.
And although the fishing ban has been lifted random inspections
will still take place and cameras may be installed on some of the pangas. There
also remains a protected area of approx 800 hectares that shrimp boats cannot enter
– their nets are most likely to trap turtles as the bycatch.