An Announcement - And A Request from Los Amigos de La Peñita

While we will do a full update on the Los Amigos de La Peñita plastics recycling program in the fall, we did want to provide the public with a quick update. Los Amigos is now operating its own truck, compactor and processing area. We will start residential pick up in La Peñita next Wednesday. As well, we are now operating in Guaybitos at several hotels and have baskets in the walkways to the beach. It was decided by the local authorities in La Peñita to take the recycle baskets and the garbage cans off of the Avenida and to relocate them elsewhere within the community and we have to admit that it does look better.

Now to the request. The two gentlemen that have been working to build the program are going to be taking a break, one at a time, and we need a couple of folks starting now and over the summer to help supervise the operation. We have two capable workers who do the pick-up and processing but it is imperative that we have one or two individuals to provide some supervision of the operation during the times when our volunteers are away. These individuals would not be expected to physically handle the plastics and it is not expected to be very time consuming during the summer months. So if you know of someone or would like to volunteer yourself, please send an email to:
recycling@losamigosdelapenita.com .

Gentle Sea Giant 

Leatherback Sea Turtles

             By Tara Spears

If you believe that bigger is better, then you can appreciate the Leatherback sea turtle. It is huge!  While the largest documented Leatherback was a male weighing in at 916 kg (2,019 pounds) with a shell length of 2.56 meters (8 ft.5 in.), adult females generally weigh from 200 to 600 kg (440- 1320 pounds) with a shell length ranging from 145 to 170 cm (4 ft. 9 in. to 5 ft. 7 in.).  The Eastern Pacific Leatherbacks tend to be smaller than those living in the Atlantic Ocean.  Notice the characteristic long front flippers that exceed the length of its shell and enable this species to comfortably traverse the open ocean.

 Leatherback sea turtles have a wider distribution than any other sea turtle. They nest in tropical waters, such as those along the Mexican Riviera Nayarit coast, but feed in temperate waters as far north as the Gulf of Alaska and south of the Bering Sea in the northeastern Pacific and as far south as Chile in the southeastern Pacific. This turtle species is found farther north than any other reptile, marine or terrestrial. Leatherbacks are highly oceanic, only approaching coastal waters during breeding season. When traveling from feeding grounds to nesting areas, Leatherbacks may migrate as far as 5,000 km (3,100 miles) each year. It is no wonder that the species has evolved such massive forelimbs!

As the largest species of sea turtle, it is unique in many ways. It lacks a hard shell, has ridges along its back, has no claws and no scales, and it can elevate its body temperature, allowing it to function well in cold water. Leatherback Sea Turtles are dark gray or black with small white and light gray blotches distributed uniformly over their bodies. The same blotchy pattern extends over their shell, head and flippers. They usually have a pinkish blotch on the top of their head. Only their underside is light in color. (See photo.)

The Leatherback sea turtle feeds mostly on coelenterates, particularly jellyfish. This diet of jellyfish is somewhat amazing, as jellyfish consist primarily of water and are poor in nutrients. Nevertheless, Leatherbacks grow to a large size on this diet, as they feed continuously, eating twice their bodyweight in a single day. The jellyfish congregate in great numbers at a depth of 600 meters during the day, and the Leatherback repeatedly dives to that depth to get them. They continue to feed when the jellyfish surface at dusk.

 Leatherbacks have a unique w-shaped mouth that is well adapted for grasping and tearing jellyfish. They also have flexible spines in their mouth and throat that push food down toward their stomach while expelling sea water. Leatherbacks are also known to feed on crustaceans, squid, sea urchins, algae and seaweed.

 

Female Leatherbacks are known to return to the same nesting sites year after year. They favor extensive, sandy beaches with a steep slope to the ocean, allowing them to reach the nesting area quickly. They avoid rocks, which can damage their shell. Nesting occurs in spring, when 65 to 85 eggs are laid four to nine times a season. Their nests tend to be deeper than the nests of other sea turtles, and they spend more time concealing their eggs with piled sand. Leatherbacks typically lay a number of yolkless eggs on top of their clutch of fertilized eggs. Explanations for this vary, but it is thought that the ‘fake’ eggs may be a diversion for predators who eat their fill of them, leaving the other, real fertilized eggs to hatch. Or perhaps their function may also be to prevent sand from filling all the air spaces in the nest; in any case it is a wonderful survival adaptation.

  

Hatchlings emerge in 55 to 70 days and weigh about 44 g (2 ounces). They are about 6.25 cm long (2.5 inches) and they have tiny, beaded scales covering their bodies, which disappear as they mature. They are dark gray with white stripes along their carapace ridges and on their flippers. The most dangerous time for Leatherbacks is during incubation and hatchling periods where many predators, including crabs, vultures, lizards, raccoons, opossums and cats, have been recorded. Even when the hatchlings reach the water, the baby Leatherback are eaten by sea birds, fish, and squid. As juveniles and adults, they are attacked by sharks and killer whales (Orcas.)  Therefore, Leatherbacks are important as both predator and prey for a variety of species at many levels of the marine ecosystem food chain.

 Young leatherbacks live near the ocean surface, feeding opportunistically on matter that floats by. As they get older and can dive deeper, they spend their lives feeding in the open ocean. They grow more quickly than other sea turtles, doubling their weight every few months. Although it is estimated that some Leatherbacks have lived to be more than a hundred years old, they don't start breeding until 7-15 years of age. That makes protecting them absolutely crucial because they can't repopulate quickly enough to replace those that are dying from human related negative impacts.

Shocking Facts:                                                                                 

The number of Leatherback Sea Turtles has been greatly reduced in recent years, particularly in the Pacific. Fewer and fewer reach nesting sites each year, and those that do often have their eggs poached. By the 1990’s, most nesting sites in India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia were eliminated by people harvesting eggs. Pacific Mexican nesting sites are now at 1% of their historical number. Another major threat in the Pacific is long-line fishing, which is responsible for thousands of leatherback deaths annually. Further, leatherbacks easily get tangled in fishing nets, causing them to drown. (See above photo) Finally, because floating plastic resembles squid, leatherbacks often choke on it and die. Hundreds of thousands of marine turtles die each year, accidentally caught in hooks, lines and nets of fishing equipment, including trawl nets, gill nets, and on longline hooks. Some 50,000 juvenile, adult male and female leatherback turtles are caught globally each year in longline fisheries alone. Known as bycatch, this incidental capture is perhaps the greatest threat to the Leatherback turtle population. It appears that Leatherbacks are particularly vulnerable to entangling in fishing line due to their long flippers and the way they swim.

In the last 15 years, several international conservation organizations have vigorously implemented research programs that seek to define the turtles’ migration patterns and assist in protecting nests for optimal hatching results. Initially scientists placed a metal tag on the turtle’s front flipper, but as technology has advances, the preferred method of collecting data is by using radio or satellite transmitters. The left photo shows a small blue transmitter glued to the back of a Leatherback that is being released into the sea. This type of transmitter has a small flexible antenna that will break the surface when the turtle comes up to breathe. A passing Argos satellite receives the information and transmits it back to researchers on earth.  Unfortunately, the battery is only lasts about 8-10 months, at which time the transmitter quits working and falls safely off the turtle.

The Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute (Orlando, Florida, USA)  has developed a radio/satellite transmitter harness for leatherback turtles. Its design allows secure attachment of a transmitter without affecting turtle mobility. The harness was designed to automaticly release within several months.

Attempts in Mexico to protect sea turtles are a combination of official and unofficial endeavors and responsibility seems to shift among agencies. Since 2000, responsibility for the protection of sea turtles has shifted from the department for fish and game (PESCA) and the National Fisheries Institute (INP) to SEMARNAT (Environmental Protection) to the National Commission for the Protection of Natural Areas (CONANP).

Since 1990, sea turtle eggs and meat have been banned from sale in Mexico. Mexican law also prohibits the killing of sea turtles or even the disturbance of their nests. Violations can result in up to nine years in prison. Shrimp boats are required to pull “Turtle Excluder Devices” which allow turtles to escape from the nets if they are caught. Mexican environmental authorities also work to promote the importance of sea turtles to the country’s tourism business, as well as educate local fisherman on how to protect the animals. Furthermore, a public education campaign has been developed to curb the demand for turtle meat and eggs. However, the burden of patrolling Mexican beaches and enforcing the country’s wildlife laws falls mostly to the Federal Attorney General’s Office for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA) which employs a mere 300 agents to protect all of Mexico’s wildlife and enforce its laws. With its limited resources, PROFEPA must rely on backup from the army, navy, and police and even local residents. There are also 27 government-funded sea turtle protection camps throughout Mexico, which work to protect the animals and safeguard sea turtle nests and eggs. In the Riviera Nayarit, the San Pancho non-profit sea turtle conservation group, Grupo Ecológico de la Costa Verde, A.C. is looking for volunteers said director Frank D. Smith.

 

Experts fear that on the Pacific coast of the Americas, the population of reproducing females has plummeted from 91,000 in 1982 to fewer than 3,000 now. Based on this level of decline, scientists are predicting Pacific Leatherback turtles could be extinct within the next 10-15 years. What a terrible tragedy this would be!   Harmless to humans, these gentle sea giants should be revered as the king of the open ocean.

What you can do to help sea turtles:                                        

 Support government turtle protection efforts.

Donate to conservation organizations or volunteer.

Do not approach sea turtles coming from the sea.

Never harass or disturb nesting turtles.

Watch nesting turtles only by joining turtle walks by an experienced guide.

Never throw any trash in the water because a sea turtle may mistake it for food.

Be careful when you are boating to not bump into sea turtles.

When driving, watch out for sea turtles.

If you live near or on a beach, shut off outdoor lights from May 1 to October 31.