Return of Hawksbill Sea Turtles

The Costa Rica New (TCRN) – The questions is: How is it that the Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Sea Turtle has come back into the Gulf of Fonseca, a species that many scientists considered virtually extinct? The answer to that question, for now, is unknown.

This amazing discovery is being investigated by the Scientific Committee of the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles (IAC), which just celebrated its tenth year in Honduras.

Until about seven years in the Eastern Pacific hawksbill was known to be endangered and many scientists took it for practically extinct.

But it has just been discovered that it is coming back to Gulf of Fonseca, located on the west coast of Central America sharing borders with Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua.

“We know that the Eastern Pacific Hawksbill turtle is reaching the Gulf of Fonseca, but do not know why, we do not know if it has changed their life cycle…” said one of the researchers.

Experts do not know if the presence of the hawksbill in the Gulf of Fonseca is due to climate change, which would also affects all the turtles of the world.

So far researchers know that the temperature has been increasing in some areas of the Pacific coast, where Honduras has identified four sites for conservation and protection of Olive Ridley sea turtle.

In Costa Rica this species is very rare. TCRN talked with Sherry Latus, a long time sea turtle conservationist volunteer that has worked on various projects in Costa Rica over the past decade.

“This was exciting news, hawksbills are very rare and when they stop returning to a nesting site it is usually permanent” Sherry said.

Continuing, “The question is why did they return the Gulf on Fonseca? Geographically it is very close to our coast here in Costa Rica, so it will interesting to see if there are changes in population along Costa Rica’s Pacific coast over the next few years.”

Based on an original report by EFE

The Costa Rica New (TCRN)
San Jose Costa Rica