Five different species of sea turtles nest each year on the coasts of the Sinaloan territory between July and December
In Sinaloa there are three sanctuaries that are dedicated to the preservation and care of sea turtles, accompanying them from the time they lay their eggs until they hatch and are ready to begin their journey in the waters of the Pacific.
The state is home to five of the six species of sea turtles that are registered, that is why, for 40 years, people who inhabit the Pacific coasts in Sinaloa have dedicated themselves to the conservation and protection of these, against the threats of predators and humans.
Of the three centers for the conservation of the species, the Campamento Verde Camacho dates back to 1975, when citizens of the communities surrounding Verde Camacho beach realized the problems faced by the turtles in the incubation process.
A year later, on Ceuta beach in Mazatlán, he opened another sea turtle shelter, achieving the rescue of more than 300 nests, which represented about 5,000 eggs, in 1977 and 1978.
The one located on Celestino Gasca beach, in La Cruz de Elota is the third of the turtle sanctuaries in the state, where entire families work in the conservation of the different species of turtles that come to lay their eggs on the coasts of Sinaloa.
The season when the incubation and release of sea turtles take place begins on August 1, ending on December 31.
Year after year, the collaborators in the turtle centers begin their days touring the beaches in search of nests or eggs, to be taken to the incubation camps, which can be done through two processes.
The first camp to which the eggs are transferred is to the incubation pen, where the eggs are buried in the sand at a depth of 45 centimeters and must maintain temperatures no higher than 37 degrees and no less than 22.
The second is a hatching room, where the eggs are placed in coolers and exposed to 35 degrees of temperature.
After the nests are relocated, it is necessary to label them with the date of the start of incubation and the number of eggs; After this, you must wait 40 to 45 days for them to hatch and start new lives.
According to Rule 164, the space between each nest should be one to two meters.
It is during the days that the incubation process lasts that the sanctuary workers monitor the temperatures of the nests, as well as the cleaning of pens and the hatching room. At the same time, they carry out inspections on the beaches in search of more nests, to carry out the same processes.
Once the incubation process is finished, it is time to start cleaning the nests, a process in which the empty eggs are removed and the turtles are placed in large coolers, to then proceed to their release on the beaches.
Source: elsoldemazatlan.com.mx
