RETURN OF THE BLACK TURTLES
Photo Essay by Neil Ever Osborne
Black sea turtles (also known as East Pacific green turtles) were once considered by some experts to be beyond saving. After a decade of grassroots work by coastal residents and scientists, these charismatic reptiles are making a comeback along Mexico’s Pacific coast.
Black turtles mating off the coast of Mexico.
Roberto Alejandro Osuna Trujillo, a boat captain with Grupo Tortuguero, releases a black sea turtle caught in a poachers net. San Carlos, BCS, Mexico. This diverse network of fishermen, scientists, students, and volunteers is working to protect all five species of Pacific sea turtles.
Checking a black turtle (the Pacific sub-species of green turtles) in Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, Mexico.
Jesus Salvador Lucero R. (Don Chuy), Jose Hernandez (Boat Captain with GT), Juan Manuel Rodriguez Boron (Research Coordinator with GT), and Andrea de Luca Motta (Research Coordinator with GT), work a black sea turtle caught in their monitoring net. Lopez Mateos, BCS, Mexico.
Roberto Alejandro Osuna Trujillo, a boat captain with Grupo Tortuguero, releases a black sea turtle caught in a poachers net. San Carlos, BCS, Mexico.
Dr. Wallace J. Nichols
Dr. Wallace J. Nichols rescues a black sea turtle caught in a poachers net. San Carlos, BCS, Mexico.
Jesus Salvador Lucero R.
Jesus Salvador Lucero R. (Don Chuy). Lopez Mateos, BCS, Mexico.
Vladimir de la Toba
Alejandra Osuna
Alejandra Osuna
Dr. Wallace J. Nichols inspects an old sea turtle graveyard. Once common, poaching of black turtles has declined dramatically over the past 20 years and numbers of nesting turtles are increasing.
