THS IS AN EMAIL I RECEIVED A FEW YEARS AGO:
A picture is worth a thousand words
For all of you who have heard about global warming causing the decline in sea turtles
Aha.. maybe we have just discovered why the sea turtle is becoming extinct; and it is not global warming!
COSTA RICA
On the beaches of Costa Rica...so that you have an idea of the 'attack againstnature'....!
please send it to every one.
World Wide shame in COSTA RICA Please distribute widely
For all of you who have heard about global warming causing the decline in sea turtles
Aha.. maybe we have just discovered why the sea turtle is becoming extinct; and it is not global warming!
COSTA RICA
On the beaches of Costa Rica...so that you have an idea of the 'attack againstnature'....!
please send it to every one.
World Wide shame in COSTA RICA Please distribute widely
The Turtle eggs are stolen - harvested if you prefer - to be sold.
The planet is thankful for the forwarding of this email.
NOTHING LIKE A PICTURE TO EXPLAIN AN EXTINCTION -
PLEASE SPEAK UP FOR THEM AS THEY ARE UNABLE TO ASK FOR HELP THEMSELVES
The planet is thankful for the forwarding of this email.
NOTHING LIKE A PICTURE TO EXPLAIN AN EXTINCTION -
PLEASE SPEAK UP FOR THEM AS THEY ARE UNABLE TO ASK FOR HELP THEMSELVES
BUT LOOK WHAT I FOUND SEARCHING A LITTLE BIT ON THE MATTER:
This widely circulated series of images depicting the collection of turtle eggs from a beach in Costa Rica is a case in point. The photographs themselves are perfectly genuine and they certainly do show the harvesting of turtle eggs. However, this egg harvest is not an illegal poaching operation nor is it an environmentally destructive "attack against nature" as suggested in the text that accompanies these photographs.
Instead, the turtle egg harvest is an important part of a long-term environmental project developed and managed by the Costa Rican government. The photographs show an egg harvest by villagers at Ostional beach, a remote community near Punta Gurones on Costa Rica's Pacific coast. In 1983, the Costa Rican government created the Ostional Wildlife Refuge in the area and later initiated the Egg Harvest Project (EHP). The EHP allowed villagers to continue their traditional practice of harvesting eggs while furthering the long term goal of assisting in the conservation and recovery of the Olive Ridley turtle species. The harvests are strictly controlled, with villagers only allowed to take eggs within the first day and a half of each egg laying event, known as an "arribada".
Information about the Project published on Seaturtles.org explains:
Instead, the turtle egg harvest is an important part of a long-term environmental project developed and managed by the Costa Rican government. The photographs show an egg harvest by villagers at Ostional beach, a remote community near Punta Gurones on Costa Rica's Pacific coast. In 1983, the Costa Rican government created the Ostional Wildlife Refuge in the area and later initiated the Egg Harvest Project (EHP). The EHP allowed villagers to continue their traditional practice of harvesting eggs while furthering the long term goal of assisting in the conservation and recovery of the Olive Ridley turtle species. The harvests are strictly controlled, with villagers only allowed to take eggs within the first day and a half of each egg laying event, known as an "arribada".
Information about the Project published on Seaturtles.org explains:
Other photographs of Ostional available online clearly show that the photographs in the above sequence do indeed depict the beach at Ostional. And, if the images really did depict an illegal poaching activity, the large crowd of would-be poachers shown would very likely be more clandestine in their activities. Those egg harvesters shown in the images are obviously conducting their activities in a very open manner and clearly show no objection to being photographed. Not the sort of behaviour one would expect from callous poachers engaging in illegal activities.
It should be noted that, at the time of writing, scientists are yet to conclusively prove that egg harvesting does actually improve turtle hatchling success in the long term. For those wishing more technical information, a 2012 paper by the Chelonian Research Foundation discusses in detail the long term viability of the harvest as a management tool and presents various management recommendations for its future.
But whatever the future of the project, the suggestion in this "protest" message that the images depict an event of "world wide shame" and an 'attack against nature' is misguided. And the request to send the message on in the hope of stopping the egg harvest is also misguided. As noted above, the Egg Harvest Project at Ostional is intended to help protect and sustain this precious species. The project represents an innovative approach to species protection. Spreading misinformation in the form of this inflammatory and misleading protest message will serve only to divert attention away from genuine environmental concerns. The illegal and uncontrolled poaching of sea turtle eggs, meat and shells in many parts of the world represents areal and ongoing threat to turtle species. But, castigating and misrepresenting group of people who have, for many years, participated in a perfectly legal egg harvest aimed at improving the long term outlook for Olive Ridley turtles is counterproductive to say the least.
It should be noted that, at the time of writing, scientists are yet to conclusively prove that egg harvesting does actually improve turtle hatchling success in the long term. For those wishing more technical information, a 2012 paper by the Chelonian Research Foundation discusses in detail the long term viability of the harvest as a management tool and presents various management recommendations for its future.
But whatever the future of the project, the suggestion in this "protest" message that the images depict an event of "world wide shame" and an 'attack against nature' is misguided. And the request to send the message on in the hope of stopping the egg harvest is also misguided. As noted above, the Egg Harvest Project at Ostional is intended to help protect and sustain this precious species. The project represents an innovative approach to species protection. Spreading misinformation in the form of this inflammatory and misleading protest message will serve only to divert attention away from genuine environmental concerns. The illegal and uncontrolled poaching of sea turtle eggs, meat and shells in many parts of the world represents areal and ongoing threat to turtle species. But, castigating and misrepresenting group of people who have, for many years, participated in a perfectly legal egg harvest aimed at improving the long term outlook for Olive Ridley turtles is counterproductive to say the least.
