Each year, countless sea turtle eggs are illegally harvested in Central America and sold on the black market. Poachers dig up the nests, remove the eggs and sell them to middlemen, who in turn transport them to cities where they are sold as staples in bars and restaurants.
Yet how they reach their destination remains something of a mystery to conservationists. Since little is known about the routes frequented by smugglers, thereby frustrating efforts to thwart the sale of poached sea turtle eggs to consumers.
“Our presumption is that the sea turtle egg trade is perhaps concealed within the legal trade in fisheries products,” Kim Williams- Guillen said, director of science program for the nonprofit organization Paso Pacifico. She and her …show more content…
Sea turtle eggs are widely regarded as a widely reliable source of protein and can be purchased for less than two dollars per dozen. Furthermore, in Central America and Mexico, turtle eggs are often consumed in the mistaken belief that they contain aphrodisiac qualities.
And that’s where a fake egg would come in handy. The data collected could determine which nesting sites are the most vulnerable to poaching, establish the routes frequented by smugglers and locate where the eggs are sold; whether it’s a roadside cantina, or a restaurant in the capital city of Managua.
Experts believe most of the eggs are bound to Guatemala and El Salvador, but that has yet to be established. If their suspicions are correct, the fake eggs will provide an added incentive to shift the focus away from low-level poachers – who make small sums of money- to the middlemen and the markets driving the demand.
Presently, none of this data exists, which means the NGO lacks the information to respond …show more content…
Despite the dogged efforts of conservationists to protect these prehistoric sea creatures, they face a myriad threats. Their populations have declined steeply worldwide due to human pressure; among them coastal development, light pollution and commercial fishing. Today, six of the seven of the world’s sea turtles are endangered and Red Listed by the IUCN. Nicaragua is home to four of them; the olive ridley, the leatherback, the green and the critically endangered Hawskbill sea turtle.
Knowing where sales occure would enable conservationists and wildlife officials to direct their limited resources. “If you don’t have the tools to tell you where those eggs are going then you’re two steps behind” said Alexander Gaos, a representative of the IUCN’s marine turtle task force. Mapping the illegal trade would complement existing conservation efforts. He added, “You have to have multipronged approach. Beaches have been protected for decades but there are holes. This research will help to elucidate how this network actually works."
Yet how they reach their destination remains something of a mystery to conservationists. Since little is known about the routes frequented by smugglers, thereby frustrating efforts to thwart the sale of poached sea turtle eggs to consumers.
“Our presumption is that the sea turtle egg trade is perhaps concealed within the legal trade in fisheries products,” Kim Williams- Guillen said, director of science program for the nonprofit organization Paso Pacifico. She and her …show more content…
Sea turtle eggs are widely regarded as a widely reliable source of protein and can be purchased for less than two dollars per dozen. Furthermore, in Central America and Mexico, turtle eggs are often consumed in the mistaken belief that they contain aphrodisiac qualities.
And that’s where a fake egg would come in handy. The data collected could determine which nesting sites are the most vulnerable to poaching, establish the routes frequented by smugglers and locate where the eggs are sold; whether it’s a roadside cantina, or a restaurant in the capital city of Managua.
Experts believe most of the eggs are bound to Guatemala and El Salvador, but that has yet to be established. If their suspicions are correct, the fake eggs will provide an added incentive to shift the focus away from low-level poachers – who make small sums of money- to the middlemen and the markets driving the demand.
Presently, none of this data exists, which means the NGO lacks the information to respond …show more content…
Despite the dogged efforts of conservationists to protect these prehistoric sea creatures, they face a myriad threats. Their populations have declined steeply worldwide due to human pressure; among them coastal development, light pollution and commercial fishing. Today, six of the seven of the world’s sea turtles are endangered and Red Listed by the IUCN. Nicaragua is home to four of them; the olive ridley, the leatherback, the green and the critically endangered Hawskbill sea turtle.
Knowing where sales occure would enable conservationists and wildlife officials to direct their limited resources. “If you don’t have the tools to tell you where those eggs are going then you’re two steps behind” said Alexander Gaos, a representative of the IUCN’s marine turtle task force. Mapping the illegal trade would complement existing conservation efforts. He added, “You have to have multipronged approach. Beaches have been protected for decades but there are holes. This research will help to elucidate how this network actually works."