Playa del Carmen, Q.R. — Four sea turtle nests have been recorded in six days along Playa del Carmen beaches. Lucelly Ramos Montejo, Director of Environmental Management and Climate Change at Solidaridad, reported monitoring started at the end of April.
Within the first days of May, the municipality had already recorded four nests. Ramos says full monitoring is currently underway along more than 24 kilometers of beach that is home to four of the seven sea turtle species known across Mexico.
“In Solidaridad we receive four of the species of sea turtles that arrive in Mexico, so we are privileged. These species are the green (or white), hawksbill, loggerhead and leatherback,” she said.
During sea turtle nesting season, beach front hotels are asked to remove tables, chairs and loungers from the sand by 6:00 p.m. to accommodate any arriving turtles during the night.
“From 5:00 to 6:00 in the afternoon they must remove everything that is movable, beds, lounge chairs, everything they have in the beach area that could be harmful to sea turtles,” she said.
Constant surveillance to protect the nests and prevent egg theft is carried out in coordination with the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa) and the Secretary of the Navy (Semar).
Ramos says stealing sea turtle eggs is a federal office that can result in up to nine years in jail along with a fine in excess of 20,000 pesos.
