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Marine Turtle Newsletter 78:26, © 1997

HURRICANE PAULINE DESTROYED 40 MILLION SEA TURTLE
EGGS IN THE OAXACAN BEACH OF MAZUNTE

The Mexican Center for Sea Turtles, unique in the world, was damaged [in October 1997] by Hurricane Pauline, although the worst damage was caused to the beaches where the chelonians arrive to lay their eggs. The Director of the Center, Javier Vasconcelos Perez, said in an interview that 90% of the Center's installations suffered some kind of damage. He pointed out that most of the buildings are now roofless. The Center's computer equipment is damaged, as are electrical installations, radio communication systems, and archives. Fortunately, the section of the aquarium that holds specimens of endangered sea turtles did not suffer any damage. "We will reestablish soon the attention given to the sea turtles", he said; although heavy damage was caused to the communities near the Center, help has been arriving. He said that the Secretary of Environment, Natural Resources and Fisheries (SEMARNAP) and the National Fisheries Institute (INP) promised to provide support to reestablish the Center.

Pauline affected almost the totality of the 806 thousand nests which had been registered this year. According to Javier Vasconcelos Perez, "the ecological damage is very severe, especially "La Escobilla" beach, which is considered one of the most important nesting beaches for the Pacific Ridley sea turtle in the world." He estimates that 50% of the nests were totally wind-blown by the hurricane; that is, 40 million eggs and 10 million hatchlings. There is hope that the adult population, which was not affected, will permit the recovery of the population. The nesting beaches which suffered the most damage are Chacahua, Llano Grande, Tierra Colorada, Morro Ayuta, Barra de la Cruz and La Escobilla.

"We expect the damage will be repaired in a natural way next year, but what had been accomplished with regards to the preservation of the species has been lost, so that it will be necessary to increase the vigilance in the nesting beaches," Javier Vasconcelos Perez said. He added, "The different species of turtles will have serious problems to nest in the future since the winds and rains "ate" the beaches and filled them with debris." Source: excerpted from La Cronica, 17 October 1997 (translation from the Spanish original was provided by Juan Carlos Cantu, TEYELIZ, A.C., MEXICO)