Punta Chame is a Panama peninsula that extends into the Pacific Ocean. Its sea turtles face a similar threat to rhinos and pangolins: human superstition.
The eggs of the protected olive turtle egg are illegally collected from the coast and sold in towns for as low as 75 cents to $1 per piece for their purported anti-aphrodisiac abilities.
Jorge Padilla is a conservationist for Fundacion Tortuguias that collects and hatches the eggs.
“The eggs won’t help you.” He insisted that they are not an aphrodisiac.
The olive ridleyLepidochelys Olivacea) is Listened as “vulnerable”.The Red List of International Union for Conservation of Nature shows its declining numbers.
Its survival is dependent on people like Padilla. They collect fresh eggs and bury them at the nursery in sand with help from village volunteers.
Every year, hundreds hatch here between July and Februar. The tiny critters are quickly brought to the shore and released by volunteers.
“We can’t just put them in the water, because they must go through an imprinting (along the beach) process that will bring them back 18-20 years later to the exact beach where they were born to lay their eggs.”
Useful for clothes, combs
Padilla patrols beach at night to fend off poachers.
There are other threats, such as stray dogs that roam the beaches looking for food and eagles.
Padilla repels dogs, but leaves the eagles alone as they are natural turtle predators.
Other turtles are caught in the net from fishing. Human encroachment can also pose a threat to their nesting areas. Climate Change.
“There are many threats to sea turtles, both in the Pacific and in the Caribbean: illegal egg harvesting, overconsumption of their meat, their shells… They are used for combs… clothing,” said Padilla.
The uncertain fate of marine turtles is on the agenda at a global wildlife summit in Panama City, near Punta Chame and its 500 inhabitants.
A meeting of countries in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, CITES, will examine ways to combat egg theft and trafficking.
A working document on CITES websiteStates that “illegal harvesting and trading continues to pose a threat to marine turtles.””
