Mexico Plans to Protect Endangered Turtles with Drones
Mexico Plans to Protect Endangered Turtles with Drones
Mon, 09/14/2015 - 5:26pm by Jake Meister, Real Time Digital Reporter,
@JMeistPDD
The Olive Ridley turtle breeds on beaches in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, an area where the reptiles often falls victim to poachers.
The situation has become increasingly bad for the sea turtle, which travels to Mexico’s coastal area each year. One such example of poaching was recently made evident at Oaxaca’s Morro Ayuta beach. According to International Business Times, environmentalists estimate that as much as 80 percent of the beach’s turtle eggs were poached during a night where it was unpatrolled. The marines tasked with monitoring the beach left the night before the onslaught to help protect other areas due to security issues.
Officials at Morro Ayuta and Escobilla (another beach in Oaxaca) will begin using two drones to help protect against the attacks, according to Guillermo Haro, a prosecutor for Mexico’s environmental body Profepa. He said that the officials hope to eradicate the poaching, commercialization, and sale of the eggs using intelligence work by marines in the ocean and land.
Authorities hope the threat of being spotted by a drone will be more of a deterrent to the poachers, who continue to commit the crime despite the fact that Mexico banned it more than two decades ago. Fisherman in the area are purportedly able to sell the Olive Ridley’s eggs for as much as 15 pesos (90 cents) each. In addition to attempting to make a profit, locals in the area also eat the eggs.
More:
http://www.pddnet.com/news/2015/09/mexico-plans-protect-endangered-turtles-drones