The Mazatlan Aquarium has no budget for the sea turtle protection program

The Aquarium starts rescue actions with few eventual personnel; in the first nine days: five nests and 535 protected eggs.

Mazatlán, Sinaloa (July 13, 2020).- Due to lack of resources and the economic situation that the Mazatlán Aquarium is going through due to the closure of the recreational center during the health emergency by Covid-19, this year the Sea Turtle Protection Program that started the July 1, will be held only with the support of three biologists from the institution and a manager, reported the head of the aquarium, Pablo Rojas Zepeda.

Pablo Rojas Zepeda

He said that every year temporary personnel are hired to cover the arrival of turtles and rescue nests that are left on the beaches, however, this year it was decided to reassign personnel from the same Aquarium to the program since they do not have economic resources to recruit more staff.

He commented that the program ends in November, due to the strong arrival season, but the preservation actions take place throughout the year.

However, he added that this year the sea turtle spawning season started slowly and is expected to skyrocket in the coming days, with several rains registered in the area.

Outside the season, the months with the most arrivals were January and May, with three and four nests, respectively, in which 666 hatchlings were rescued, representing 64% of the total in the first half of 2020.

The annual goal of the Sea Turtle Protection Program is to exceed the 2019 figure, which was 1,047 nests rescued and 85,000 baby turtles released.

NESTS PER MONTH

JANUARY:

  • 3 nests
  • 277 hatched eggs
  • 243 hatchlings released

FEBRUARY

  • 1 nest
  • 69 eggs
  • 61 pups

MARCH

  • 0 nests

APRIL

  • 2 nests
  • 183 eggs

MAY

  • 4 nests
  • 423 eggs

JUNE

  • 1 nest
  • 89 eggs

JULY

  • 5 nests
  • 535 eggs

Information issued by the Mazatlán Aquarium, updated on July 9, 2020.

The Mazatlan Post