Defenders of Wildlife Blog

© William R. Curtsinger / National Geographic Stock

Juan Carlos Cantu, Mexico Program Manager

Humans can regularly be seen on Mexico’s beaches, umbrella drink in hand. But we’re not the only ones who regularly hit the country’s beautiful sandy coastline. Literally, every sea turtle species on earth nests on Mexico’s beaches, save one that is only found in Australia. That’s why we’re known as the sea turtle capital of the world, and that’s why the way Mexico protects its sea turtles matters on a global scale.

Current Mexican law classifies all sea turtle species as endangered. But unfortunately this really only means turtles are protected from direct harvest—meaning they can’t be killed for their meat, skin, shell or eggs. Yet other factors pose serious dangers, including damage to and destruction of sea turtle habitat. Even nesting habitat, which is particularly important to the survival of these species, was not legally protected.

An endangered Olive Ridley sea turtle comes ashore to lay her eggs. (© Steven Price)

But not anymore, because in February, a new Mexican law (known as Official Norm-162) took effect, and it offers a whole slate of new protections for sea turtle nesting grounds in Mexico.

Previously, only the most important sea turtle nesting sites have been designated as sanctuaries and natural reserves, which allowed them some level of protection but left the majority of nesting habitat vulnerable.  But now, the new regulation extends habitat protections to all turtle nesting sites. Here are just some of the things that this new and unprecedented regulation has accomplished for sea turtle nesting habitat:

Protecting Native Habitat
The new regulation forbids the removal of native vegetation in the nesting habitat. When coastal vegetation is removed, especially from sand dunes, it allows increased erosion that could eventually destroy nesting beaches. In addition, some turtles like the critically endangered hawksbill sea turtle even prefer to crawl up the beach all the way up to the vegetation to nest.

Loggerhead Sea Turtle Hatchling (NPS)

Putting Out Artificial Lights
The regulation also addresses one of the main factors that disrupt nesting turtles: artificial lights from houses, hotels and roads. These light sources can not only disorient nesting females, but they can be lethal to emerging hatchlings. As they climb their way up from their sandy nest, newly-hatched turtles look for the subtle light reflecting off the surf and waves to orient themselves towards the sea. Artificial lighting can point them in the wrong direction and when you are that young, one wrong turn can force you to use up your limited energy stores, leading to an almost certain death. Even those that eventually make their way to the surf can be too exhausted to swim away, becoming easy pickings for fish and marine birds. For the first time in Mexico, this new regulation calls for moving, changing or eliminating any light sources that illuminates a nesting beach or creates a glow that could disorient the females or hatchlings. These changes won’t happen overnight, but authorities are already informing beachside homeowners and hotels of the new rules.

Off-Road Vehicles
The new regulation also helps address the use of heavy vehicles on the beach. Heavy vehicles may compact sand, destroy nests and eggs, create deep ruts that can become traps for nestlings and basically tear up nesting beaches. No more. From now on, vehicles on nesting beaches have to be less than 300 kg in weight and can only be used for patrolling and management of the nesting site.

In the U.S., sea turtle nesting grounds are often carefully protected. (© Robert S. Donovan)

Spectators
A less obviously threatening activity also outlawed by the new regulation is the release of newly hatched sea turtles. Many hotels near nesting beaches offer guests the opportunity to be part of the release of hatchlings into the sea. The problem is that they keep the hatchlings in confinement for many days until enough people sign up for the activity. So when they are released after being held in captivity, they are too weak to handle the surf or avoid predators. Hatchlings need to get into the water as soon as possible after hatching so they can use their limited energy to swim away. This tourism practice is now forbidden, and hatchlings have to be released immediately. Also for the first time, those who want to watch sea turtles laying their eggs during nesting season will have to follow strict rules.

All of these and many more regulations will help protect beaches, nests, female sea turtles, their eggs and hatchlings from now on. I am proud to say that Defenders of Wildlife played a key role in making this happen. We worked on this regulation for many years; in fact we were the ones who proposed its creation back in 2002. It took a decade of lobbying before we got the Environment Ministry to develop it, and Defenders is one of only four non-governmental organizations credited with helping to make these new protections a reality. It took a long time to get these regulations adopted but now when sea turtles hit Mexico’s beaches to nest, they will find it a safer place than ever.

Juan Carlos Cantu, Mexico Program Manager

Illegally-logged rosewood in Madagascar (c)Erik Patel

Whenever you buy tropical hardwoods, chances are that it comes with a far higher cost than you know. Tropical tree species in Southeast Asia, Africa and Central America are being logged out of existence, and precious endangered tropical woods like rosewood and ebony are the target of one of the largest growing economies in the world: China.

About 90 percent of all tropical timber harvested is illegal and has many negative effects. Valuable natural resources are ransacked, habitat for hundreds of species of wildlife is lost, and foreign criminals enter local communities and national parks, creating an environment of violence and corruption. In addition to all this, the terrible reality of illegal logging is that it is one of the bloodiest industries in the international wildlife and plant trade. People die – loggers, forest owners trying to defend the trees, and law enforcement officials fighting loggers and crime syndicates. All of this is why the recent victory for tropical trees at the latest meeting of the International Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) was a fantastic step towards halting this vicious cycle.

In Cambodia, the high profits earned from illegal rosewood have led loggers to cut down most of their country’s rosewood trees. Now they are focusing their criminal activities on Thailand, crossing the border to log forests and national parks. Thailand has lost 70 percent of their rosewood population to illegal logging in just six years. The same thing is happening in Laos and Vietnam, which have seen their forests dwindle by 50 to 60 percent and are serving as points of entry for illegal logs destined for China. Belize has also been the focus of illegal loggers, which in the past five years have cut down 30 percent of the country’s rosewood trees for export to China.

Lemurs, like this silky sifaka, are heavily impacted by illegal logging (c) Simponafotsy

Earlier this year, in an action reminiscent of Kenya’s burning of illegal ivory, Belize’s Environment Ministry burned 700 logs of confiscated rosewood to send a message to illegal loggers that enough is enough, Belize will not let them profit from their crime. And they aren’t the only ones fed up with seeing their native forests plundered. In October of 2012, Mexico seized a shipping container in the port of Manzanillo filled with illegal rosewood logs headed for China. In Nicaragua, eco-battalions have been formed to defend the forests from illegal loggers. And Guatemala has announced a crackdown on illegal logging and confiscated several shipments destined for China.

If CITES deals with regulated trade, and the biggest problem here is with illegal trade, then how can CITES help? As boring as it initially might sound, it all comes down to paperwork. When a CITES trade authorization permit is not required (they are issued only for CITES-listed species), customs officers generally have to accept any document accompanying a given shipment. These documents can come in many languages and forms, which customs officers generally are forced to accept either because they can’t read them, or, if they are forged, because they have absolutely no way of determining their validity on the ground. When species are listed under CITES, however, every single shipment needs to be accompanied by the exact same paperwork in order to be traded: a valid CITES export permit. All importing countries, including China, will have to reject any shipment that has not been validated by CITES authorities, and the customs officers in all 178 member countries will be able to readily identify illegal shipments if they try to enter their country without a CITES permit. Chinese customs officers will not be able to play dumb anymore when faced with an illegal shipment of ebony or rosewood.

Juan Carlos testifies during the proposal for Rosewood species.

This year at the CITES Conference of the Parties, several countries presented proposals to list tree species in Appendix II of CITES. Madagascar presented proposals for all their endemic species of ebony and rosewood (a total of 121 species!); Thailand and Vietnam presented a proposal to list the Siamese rosewood, which also inhabits Cambodia and Laos; and Belize presented a proposal for another three species of rosewood from Central America.

As chair of the Tree Working Group of the Species Survival Network, I coordinated the effort of Defenders and several other NGOs to lobby for support for these proposals before and during the CITES conference. Everyone worked unbelievably hard, and it helped to achieve a historic result: ALL of the tree proposals were adopted by consensus! In fact, it was the largest number of tree species entering Appendix II during any CITES meeting since its creation. While the proposals were presented and discussed during the Conference, China’s delegation observed quietly. When the vote came, China didn’t support the proposals, but for the first time they did not oppose them. Their silence spoke volumes, and we believe it signaled a hopeful change for the future of these endangered tree species and the wildlife that rely on them in their native forests.

Juan Carlos Cantu, Mexico Program Manager

An incredible animal with an incredible story, the Pacific loggerhead sea turtle will face many challenges throughout its life. From the day it is born, it enters the vast waters of the Pacific Ocean and travels thousands of lonely miles as it struggles to reach adulthood, return to the place it was born and continue the circle of life. Despite the perils of such a journey, the most severe threat these animals now face is humans.

Loggerhead Sea Turtle Hatchling (NPS)

The Northern Pacific loggerhead sea turtle nests on the coasts of Japan, where it can lay approximately 95 to 150 eggs. After 56 to 80 days, the nestlings hatch and enter the cold Japanese waters to start one of the most amazing journeys of any living species. Their goal is to cross the Pacific Ocean to arrive at the rich feeding grounds off the Pacific coast of Baja California Sur in Mexico. The origins of this migration are a mystery, but the reality is that these small loggerhead sea turtles must travel 7,500 miles of open sea to reach their destination. This is an immense body of water for the little turtles to swim, and the trip can take up to six years. By the time they arrive in Baja, those that survive are no longer small hatchlings, but fairly large juveniles. They spend the next 10 years in Mexican waters, where they feed mostly on crustaceans called pelagic red crabs in a relatively small area in front of the Bay of Ulloa.

Slow to grow and mature, even at 15 to 20 years of age, loggerheads are still considered subadults when they begin their journey back across the Pacific. They will roam the Northern Pacific until they reach their reproductive age, then swim back to the beaches in Japan where they were born and start a new cycle of nesting. The round trip takes decades to complete, and the adult sea turtles will never leave these waters to traverse the Pacific Ocean again.

Unfortunately, the number of nesting females in Japan has decreased by 90 percent in the past three generations, which qualifies this loggerhead population as critically endangered. The main culprit is “bycatch” — the unintentional capture of sea  turtles in fisheries.

Fishing nets (Credit: Garry Knight)

In the waters off Japan, loggerhead sea turtles fall prey to massive nets, while in the open ocean the threat comes from the international longline fleet, which consists of fishing lines dozens of miles long, each with thousands of hanging hooks. Drift net fisheries (huge, miles-long nets that capture everything in their path) and gillnet fishers in the Pacific also have high bycatch of loggerheads. The National Marine Fisheries Service has noted that just 37 to 92 North Pacific loggerheads killed each year through bycatch would increase the species’ risk of extinction. In Mexico, these sea turtles are even more vulnerable to bycatch because they gather in such small areas to feed. Coastal fisheries in Baja, which mainly target shark and halibut, are capturing a staggering 1,000 loggerheads every year.

For years, teams of NGOs and scientists tried to convince fishermen to use alternative fishing gear and modify their fishing practices. Defenders of Wildlife helped this effort by producing materials like posters and even comic books with information on how to help sea turtles. Eventually these efforts started to pay off — fishermen were changing their fishing practices voluntarily, and bycatch was being reduced. Unfortunately, a recent seasonal ban on shark fishing prompted fishermen to start using their old methods on other species to increase their total catch, and as a result, bycatch has skyrocketed.

Bycatch alone is not illegal because it is not intentional. The problem here in Mexico is that the loggerheads’ feeding areas have little protection, and there are no regulations that mandate the use of alternative fishing gear or practices to reduce bycatch or in any way limit the number of sea turtles that can legally be caught as bycatch. For years, we worked to develop shark fishery regulations that include provisions to decrease sea turtle bycatch in Mexican waters, and in 2007, these were finally published in the official register. These regulations included a ban on drift nets and all surface nets, as well as mandatory use of circle hooks in surface longlines, which have been shown to be very successful in decreasing sea turtle bycatch and mortality. These efforts have helped, but since many Baja coastal fisheries use bottom-set longlines and gillnets, which invariably drown sea turtles, it has not been enough.

Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Photo: NOAA)

At the same time, Defenders joined an effort by local and international NGOs and research scientists to request that the Environment Ministry create a refuge area to protect loggerheads in their feeding grounds. For the past five years, environmental authorities have dragged their feet on this issue, with never-ending stakeholder meetings that resulted in no protected area, and no regulation of the different types of coastal fisheries that are negatively impacting the loggerhead population. This year, bycatch increased by 600 percent, making it the highest bycatch rate of loggerheads in the world.

We have denounced this unnecessary mass mortality, publicly demanding that government institutions, which are obliged by law to protect endangered species, take action immediately to put a stop to this loggerhead massacre. The response from the authorities was swift, promising to increase vigilance of fishery activities as well as confirming that a draft refuge area decree is in the works, but we haven’t seen anything yet.

On December 1st, a completely new administration took over, and we are hopeful that this may be the break loggerhead turtles need to finally get some real protection in place. We’ll keep you posted on what happens, and we will not stop until the North Pacific loggerhead population in Mexican waters has the protection it needs to survive.

Juan Carlos Cantu, Mexico Programs Manager

A basking shark, one of only three shark species protected internationally (Photo: Greg Skomal/NOAA Fisheries Service)

Since 2002, Defenders of Wildlife has been working to get international protection for shark species by having them listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna, known more commonly as CITES. This convention can create international rules to regulate the trade of certain endangered species, or to forbid that trade altogether. For sharks, which are being decimated by the international shark fin trade, being listed under CITES could mean an unprecedented level of protection. Unfortunately, most fishery authorities in the world just don’t want international trade of shark products regulated — especially the fin trade. Pressure from those authorities has made it very difficult to get a CITES listing for sharks. Only three species out of the known 468 have been listed so far: the great white shark, the whale shark and the basking shark.

At the 2010 CITES meeting, three shark proposals failed. Although most countries voted in favor, Japan and China were able to scare or buy enough votes to block the proposals, which would have provided protection for three hammerhead species, as well as sandbar, dusky, oceanic white tip, porbeagle and spiny dogfish sharks. And CITES meetings only occur every two to three years, so if you don’t succeed at one meeting, it can take several years to get another chance for a species to be listed.

Last year, Alejandra Goyeneachea and I worked with the Species Survival Network (a coalition of 80 NGOs) to develop a proposal to list the scalloped hammerhead, smooth hammerhead and great hammerhead sharks at the 2013 CITES conference. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the scalloped and great hammerheads are endangered worldwide, and the smooth hammerhead is vulnerable. All three species are threatened by over-exploitation, bycatch, and illegal or unreported fishing. Because they are mostly coastal species, and easier targets for fishing, one of the most serious threats to their survival is that in many countries, sharks of all ages are captured — even pregnant females or the very young — which means the populations continue to decrease. Meanwhile, the shark fin trade has increased exponentially in the past decade, and hammerhead shark fins are some of the highest valued in the industry. The protection a CITES listing could provide these species in so many countries would give them a chance to recover from the damage the fin trade has done, and hopefully one day reverse it.

A scalloped hammerhead shark caught in a fishing net. (Photo ©Seawatch.org)

Once we had the proposal, we had to find a country to present it at the convention. We concentrated on South American countries, and Brazil agreed to lead and present the proposal. Brazilian shark experts acknowledged that their hammerhead shark populations are declining fast, and that international protection would be needed to help conserve them. Then we looked for cosponsors everywhere — the more we could get, the better the proposal’s chance of being approved. One by one, countries started to accept, including Honduras, Costa Rica, Colombia and Ecuador. The European Union was difficult because it is made up of 27 countries, and several — like Italy, Spain and Greece — did not want to support it at first; but in the end, they agreed.

Then we set our sights on Mexico. We knew it would be hard because the fishery authorities in that country had sworn in several international meetings that they would not let any shark species be listed. They were even able to block Mexico from supporting any shark proposals in the last CITES meeting. We knew that we had the support of Mexico CITES management and scientific authorities, but they couldn’t override the fishery opposition. So we had to appeal to someone higher, and that meant going to the President.

It isn’t often that reaching out to a government at the presidential level can even work, much less be well received — these leaders have so much to deal with that conservation all too often takes a back seat to other issues. But we hoped that this time would be different. Through a small coalition of Mexican NGOs, we were able to get a letter to President Calderón conveying the request. And then we got a pleasant surprise. It turns out he is a scuba diver, who loves the sea and recognizes the importance of protecting its species. With just a day left to meet the CITES deadline for submission of proposals, President Calderón sent the letter confirming Mexico’s support directly to Brazil and the CITES Secretariat.

Great hammerhead sharks (Photo ©ColombiaTravel)

Earlier this month, the official list of the proposals for the 2013 convention was published and all our year-long work — talking to dozens of government officials, working with NGOs and scientists in so many countries — was worth it: Mexico is listed as a co-proponent of the hammerheads proposal. Mexico joins Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras and Costa Rica in this proposal, making it the most supported proposal from the Latin American region in CITES history.

Alas, the hardest part of our job is just beginning. We now have to write and translate information on the shark trade and fisheries in the three official languages of CITES (English, Spanish and French) and distribute them to most of the 176 countries in CITES requesting their support to the hammerhead proposal, so that they have the best scientific and legal information available before they decide how to vote.

We’ll have constant meetings and telephone conferences with NGOs and CITES management and scientific authorities from all over the world before the March, 2013 CITES meeting in Thailand. And then, during the two-week meeting, we will do it all over again.

At the last CITES meeting, the hammerhead proposal lost by 10 votes. But we’re doing everything we can to make sure that this time, things will be different — and the result will be a victory for shark conservation.