Stealing Turtle Eggs Got People Shot, But The Thievery Continues
Nov. 30, 2015 - Olive ridley sea turtles are a threatened species, and the Mexican government has made it illegal to harvest their
eggs from Pacific beaches. Mexican marines patrol those beaches, and violators have been prosecuted. Many have been jailed. Some have even been shot. Yet sea turtle
eggs continue to be harvested, sold in the market in nearby Juchitán, and appear on the menu at local restaurants. Why? Join investigative reporter John Dickie in the state of Oaxaca to find out.
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Sea Turtles Might Be Threatened, But So Are Their Hunters"
Learn more about olive ridley sea turtles.
Transcript
Voiceover: This is a
story of two species on the beaches of Mexico fighting to survive. These endangered
Olive Ridley turtles, and the impoverished humans who hunt and sell their eggs.
Poacher
(Spanish): There is no work. If there were jobs, why the hell would I come out
here? I am a brick-layer, but I can’t find a job. What choice do we have? What
will we eat? What will our children eat?
Voiceover: Turtle eggs
have been a part of local culture for centuries, but taking and selling them
was outlawed in 1990 and it’s now a federal crime punishable with up to 9 years
in prison, depriving people of one of the few sources of income they had. But
when it comes to putting food on the table, even the law won’t stop them.
Miguel (Spanish): Eating turtle eggs is
like a tradition here. If you come to the village and don’t eat turtle eggs,
it’s like you were never here.
Voiceover: This is Miguel. He’s from a village on the beach. And like many people here, he
started poaching eggs when he was a young boy.
Miguel (Spanish): Many people go hunting
for eggs. They do it out of necessity, not because they want to. Everybody
knows it’s a crime, but they don’t see it as a crime.
Voiceover: The turtles lay 50 to 100 eggs at a time. They bury them in small nests before
returning to the ocean. The humans use a stick to find the hollow ground and
locate the nests.
We spent hours travelling around different villages, going from house to house
talking to poachers Miguel knows. It felt like everybody around here hunted
eggs, even women and children. We hoped to film people at home to show how they
lived, but because egg hunting is a federal crime, nobody wanted to talk on
camera.
During the peak landing periods, when thousands of turtles
arrive, marines and environmental inspectors are sent in to protect the beach
from poachers. It makes it much harder for the poachers to go out, but many
still take the risk.
This
year, they even started using surveillance drones.
(All dialogue in Spanish)
John Dickie, Reporter: Could you explain what the drone is
for?
Hector Perez, Inspector: On the screen,
you can see a trail. It’s not visible from here because of the dunes.
John: Who are you looking for on those
trails?
Hector: It could be local people just
passing by, or it could be egg poachers. We can’t be sure so we have to monitor
them.
John: Does it have infra-red capability?
Hector: No, not infra-red.
Inspector 2: Not at this time.
John: Because the turtles arrive at night
and the poaching is at night.
Hector: Not all the poaching is at night.
It continues in the day. At night they carry out patrols and in the day we
monitor the trails.
Miguel (Spanish): I stopped going to the
beach for eggs, because I almost got caught. I got shot. Fear makes you stop. You
think about your family. Your wife says she is scared to lose you. Who will
look after the kids? It makes you think.
Voiceover: But while all these security measures are taken on the beach, the turtle eggs
are openly sold in local markets.
John Dickie, Reporter: So we’re in the market in Juchitán.
It’s crazy, there are turtle eggs for sale everywhere, even though it’s
completely illegal and it’s actually a federal crime. I’ve heard of journalists
getting their cameras smashed here so I’m just acting like a tourist and
filming on a cell phone.”
What I can’t believe is that they send
in the marines and do such a show at the beach so people don’t take the eggs and
then completely allow the sale of the eggs in the market and the authorities
don’t seem to be doing anything about it. So there’s definitely double
standards going on.
Voiceover: I asked the district attorney for environmental protection how this was
possible.
Nereo Garcia, District Attorney for
Environmental Protection (Spanish): Juchitán market is the biggest problem
we face in the state. We have to be very strategic about it. We can't just go
into the market and set off a social conflict there. Local authorities are
scared of creating a cultural conflict, so it’s a social and political issue.
Voiceover: The feeling around here is that egg poaching will only stop if the government provides
alternatives.
Miguel: Instead of sending soldiers, why
doesn’t the government create jobs for us? We could look after our fauna. Like
collecting eggs and moving them so the baby turtles can hatch. There could be
many jobs programs, instead of wasting money on stupid ****.
Voiceover: Back in Juchitán, we went for lunch at a local, family-run restaurant. Like
many places here, turtle eggs are even listed on the menu. Everybody in Juchitán knew the eggs were illegal but few seemed to know about the turtles
being in danger of extinction.
Woman: These are the finest turtle eggs. I
don’t know why it’s illegal. I think it’s because they are bad for you. They
are high in cholesterol. I guess that’s why they’re illegal. But it’s a
tradition here in Juchitán.
Voiceover: The struggle between the two species continues, with each side fighting for its
offspring. While their numbers decline worldwide, the turtles will continue
arriving to the beach to lay their eggs, and until other opportunities present
themselves, the humans will continue to steal them to put food on the table for
their families.