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Sea turtle monitoring
Sea turtle monitoring in the Las Tunas Ancestral Commune
On the Ecuadorian coast, in the extreme south of the Manabí province, in the Las Tunas Ancestral Commune, this environmental initiative helps to protect 250 turtle nests: Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), Green (Chelonia mydas), and Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea). The care is carried out by children and their families, from several schools in the settlements that make up the community.
Every year, between the months of July and October, the turtles return to lay their eggs on the beach, from Ayampe to Puerto Rico (approximately 5 km); the protector boys and girls identify the nesting sites and proceed to mark them and give them the necessary care so that their hatching is as numerous as possible and that they are protected from possible animals that eat the eggs.
The project was born in September 2019, we decided to walk with some friends on the beach, during the tour we found more than 70 sea turtle nests that had been destroyed by dogs, we decided to monitor the beach and since then this initiative has been underway, the project directly benefits the Olive Ridley, Green, Hawksbill, and Leatherback sea turtles, allowing more than 25,000 sea turtle hatchlings to be born on our beaches each season. Environmental Education is important to continue conserving sea turtles.
Our mission
To ensure that sea turtles continue to use the Las Tunas beach to nest, continue educating the population and those who visit us about the importance and responsibility of the good use of the beach, this will guarantee their permanence in the future for new generations, that children be the fundamental support in the initiative and that they are the ones who lead over time.
For many years, sea turtle meat and eggs have been consumed in coastal communities; with conservation work, what we seek is to mitigate the negative impacts, turtles are good regulators of the oceans and it is a great opportunity for the community to recognize and take care of them.
Being an In Situ initiative, it is fundamental so that all educational centres in the country can visit and have this phenomenal experience of contributing to the beach clean-up and at the same time, the experience lived with the monitoring and patrolling of sea turtles is shared.
