08 / Sep / 2020

This year was a big surprise! Firstly, we had dozens of volunteers interested in supporting us at our sea turtle project in Rincón. Also we were going to support the new sea turtle conservation project in Playa Hermosa Punta Mala.

Suddenly, the crisis hit us like a bucket of cold water! Volunteers cancellations started coming in daily. Tourism companies began to suffer the same fate, and company employees began to lose their jobs. Complaints about the hunting and sea turtle eggs poaching are now more frequent every day. People need to eat and have few options.

These are desperate times…

Our volunteers paid for their food and contributed to 65% of the program; the other 35% came from donors like you. Now we do not have our volunteers, we do not have their hands, and we have twice the threats to face.

Recruiting national volunteers

We are betting on local volunteers. In other words, we need our donors to help us pay for the food and operating costs of program, now more than ever the threat is upon us.

So, on August 14, three members of the Rincón team traveled to Punta Mala. The project will be running from August 15 to October 30 in Playa Hermosa-Punta Mala. The participating team will be Joselyn, David, and Catalina, who will be supported by officials from the protected area and officials from the coast guard.

In words of our sea turtle conservation team at Playa Hermosa Punta Mala

David, our project assistant after a couple of days in Punta Mala, said:

“In our first exploration of the beach, we were shocked to see that most of the sea turtle nests had been stolen by egg poachers or had been naturally predated. After having counted 334 nests and realizing that we were not yet at the peak of the nesting season, we had this true and deep feeling of commitment and responsibility with the conservation of the refuge. We realized that Punta Mala Beach turns out to be significantly crucial for the nesting of the Olive Ridley Turtle “.

Similarly, Joselyn our coordinator, was shocked. 

“While we walked the beach the first time we could see with the naked eye what this beach means for the nesting of Olive Ridley turtles in the Central Pacific of Costa Rica and we realized the challenges that this means and the vital role we play by being here.

We are aware that we are competing against time and that we need We are also aware that we are competing against time and that we need hands and time to win the game against the egg poachers, natural predators, and high tides, which we consider are the greatest threat to turtle nests.”  High tides are a big threat to nesting beaches all around the world due to climate change and the rise of sea levels.

Our goal is to protect the most significant number of nests, release hundreds of turtles into the sea, and raise awareness among the people of the area about the treasure they have in the Playa Hermosa – Punta Mala National Wildlife Refuge.” Concluded Joselyn.

Sea turtle conservation Program at Playa Rincón

Moreover, we continue to protect Playa Rincón and to do this the foundation will maintain a local logistics and control coordinator, who will be responsible for the recruitment and coordination of local volunteers on the beach. This person is Esteban, who has 15 years of work and experience on this beach.

In addition, the foundation will assign Robert a Ph.D. in biology with extensive experience coordinating turtle projects; as the scientific director of the project.

Robert will be monitoring the project every week and will be compiling data for the week, making technical recommendations, and will be responsible for preparing the technical report for ACOSA. The patrols in Rincón will close at the end of November, and the operation in November and December will be subject to the release of young.

You can make the difference to these baby sea turtles

In both projects, the objective is to carry out beach patrols. Also, collect activity data on the beach, and most importantly, elocate nests that could be in danger due to their location or vulnerability.

Help us change the destiny of these little turtles. You can donate through www.corcovafundation.org/donar