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All sea turtles – except the Australian flatback turtle – are listed in the IUCN Red List as Endangered or Vulnerable. In the Yucatan Peninsula, in spite of existing laws (Mexico has had laws since 1980 protecting the hawksbill sea turtle), the impact of human activity on these endangered reptiles is considerable and difficult to control, especially in remote reserves like Rio Lagartos and El Palmar, Yucatan.
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| Female Hawksbill turtle returns to sea after laying her eggs on land |
A management and active conservation program to protect turtles in these areas is important at a local level and helps to stimulate public awareness in the region as regards these animals that are expected to continue their decline to extinction. Only a few sites of aggregated nesting by hawksbills remain in the hemisphere.
Carried out in collaboration with Europe Conservation and TETHYS, the Yucatan Project’s main purpose was to provide a long-term investigation for sea turtle conservation in two natural reserves considered to be among the last surviving tropical paradises. Here, the impact of human activities on these endangered reptiles remains difficult to control and evaluate.
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Dr. Bearzi weighs sea turtle hatchlings
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Hatchlings are released into the ocean |
 
The Yucatan Project was also conducting a bottlenose dolphin study at the Rio Lagartos reserve to ascertain population presence, distribution, and relative abundance, which will contribute toward their conservation. The dolphin research also provided data on sighting frequency, group size, composition, and behavior within this previously unstudied area.
In the years 1992-1997, the Yucatan Project has also conducted various studies in collaboration with the non-profit environmental organization Biocenosis (Merida, Yucatan), collecting additional data that helped toward the establishment of conservation strategies for the reserves. This data collection, conducted in El Palmar and Rio Lagartos Reserves, included coconut tree reforestation, census of butterflies, birds and dunal flora data collection, and hydrological studies in the “petenes”.
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| The Yucatan Project volunteer team at El Palmar, Mexico |
© 2005 Ocean Conservation Society.
All Rights Reserved.
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