Created in 1989, the Platanitos Sea Turtle Camp consists of an 8km long beach where four species of turtles are known to nest. At present it is directed by Mexico’s National Commission of Protected Areas (CONANP), part of the Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources. The most abundant species is the Olive-Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea); but hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) and black (Chelonia mydas) turtles are also known to nest here, if only sporadically. Since the opening of the camp the number of nests rose quickly with an average of 2,300 nests per year since 2006. Around 150,000 hatchlings (baby turtles) are released every year. Peak nesting season is from June to November but the beach is monitored all year round.
Boom&Rang at Platanitos Turtle Camp
At the moment the staff is a small group of 4 people: Miguel Angel Flores Peregrina, the camp administrator also in charge of other turtle camps along the Nayarit coast, Juan Hermilo Esparzo Venegas (marine biologist and field technician), Gustavo (Hermilo’s asisstant) and Gordon Godfrey (Director of Development & voulnteer recruitment).
Graduated from the University of Guadalajara, Hermilo joined the project in 2004 for the first time as assistant and has been working full time at the camp since 2007. Apart from running all the daily activites at the camp, Hermilo is also involved in community outreach projects. One of these concerns the creation of a cooperative which members (5 families at the moment) are all from the local community. The cooperative is in charge of monitoring half of the beach and help conserve sea turtles. The idea is to exploit sea turtles in a non-consumptive way, following the principal that a turtle is worth more alive then dead. Thanks to the support of the Mexican government, the cooperative has been able to built another camp at km 4, there are dry toilets and also a kitchen and a common room. The eco-camp is now ready to accept national and international volunteers and/or tourists willing to live the unique experience of seeing nesting turtles.
The creation of this cooperative is a very important step, as the main problem for turtles on the Platanitos beach is the presence of hueveros, egg poachers, also from the local community. They get 2 Mexican pesos per egg, meaning that one poacher can easily make 2,000 pesos in just one night. And that’s a lot onsidering that the minimum salary in Mexico is 50 pesos per hour.
Hermilo is aware of the situation but is also conscious of the social and economic situation of most of the poachers. His hope is that, once the eco-camp is up and running, people will start to see turtles in a different way, and a change in perception is also the first step for a change of attitudes.
Hermilo and Gerardo @ Platanitos
Hermilo is not alone at the camp. his assistant Gerardo also work tirelessy on the beach walking at night for long hours. There is also Gordon, a retired TV executive from the US, now permanently living in Platanitos. At the time we visited the camp, three volunteers where helping Hermilo and his team, two from Germany and one from the USA.
Working at Platanitos is hard, I can tell it after just one night. The weather is hot and humid and the mosquitos never sleep!! All the patrolling is done on foot and nights can be pretty long on the beach. But the place is breathtaking and the cause definitly worth it!! So if you are interested in volunteering please contact: info@seaturtlecamp.org or check this website: www.seaturtlecamp.org for more information.
A huge Gracias to Hermilo, Gerardo and Gordon for the great (but short) time we had in Platanitos!!
0 Responses to “Campamento Tortuguero Platanitos, Nayarit”