07/03/2005 Yucatan - Mexico
– WWF is calling for a regional strategy in
Mexico and the Caribbean aimed at stopping
the decline of hawksbill turtle populations.
Despite the belief by some in the international
scientific community that populations of this
endangered marine turtle was on the rise,
current research has shown otherwise.
Analysis of reproduction data conducted by
the Mexican government recently revealed that
hawksbill nesting numbers had suffered a precipitous
decline from 2000 to the present. The 2004
season, reverting back to levels of the mid-11000s,
registered less than half the usual nests,
from a total of 5,595 in 2000, on the beaches
of the Mexican states of Veracrúz,
Campeche, and Yucatán.
“This is alarming data, and unfortunately,
we don’t know why there is such a dramatic
decline," said Carlos Drews, WWF Marine
Turtle Coordinator for Latin America and the
Caribbean.
"The trends are similar in each state,
which may indicate that this is caused by
a regional phenomenon. Illegal trafficking
persists, as well as hawksbill egg extraction,
capture for meat consumption, and habitat
destruction."
"It is urgent that governments of Mexico
and the entire Caribbean region renew their
dialogue and move forward with concrete conservation
measures before it is too late,” Drews added.
The hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)
is considered critically endangered. The most
important breeding site in the Caribbean is
Yucatan, Mexico, from where they cross the
Caribbean basin to foraging grounds throughout
the region.
