1 st San Ignacio Lagoon Sea Turtle Camp

Transcription

1 1 st San Ignacio Lagoon Sea Turtle Camp 9 th -11 th July 2010, San Ignacio Lagoon, BCS, Mexico Organized by Boomerang for Earth Conservation In collaboration with: Ecoturismo Kuyima Reserva de la Biosfera del Vizcaino ProCaguama Grupo Tortuguero Sponsored by: Pam & Tessa Chesonis

2 Activity Report Introduction Located on the Pacific coast of Baja California Sur, Laguna San Ignacio is a major foraging ground for the threatened East Pacific Green turtle (Chelonia mydas). The lagoon, part of the Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve, was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1993 and a Ramsar site in 2004 (wise use of wetlands convention). It extends some 20 miles east into the coastal desert and hosts at least 85 species of algae, extensive sea grass (mainly Zoostera marina but also Ruppia maritima and Phyllospadix scouleri) and a great variety of marine fauna, including grey whales (Eschrichtius robustus), approximately 173 species of birds, and at least 107 species of fish. East Pacific Green turtles in the lagoon come from nesting sites located in the Michoacan and Revillagigedos areas (1,000 and 1,400 km away respectively) and they spend approximately years in the lagoon to feed and grow. When they reach sexual maturity, East Pacific Green turtles start their migration towards the reproductive grounds. Only a few adults will come back to the lagoon during the inter-breeding seasons. Main threats to turtles in the lagoon are by-catch in artisanal fisheries and directed take for consumption. It is estimated that around 1,100 East Pacific Green turtles drown and die every year in the lagoon in gillnets used to catch guitarfish and halibut, while 4,800 are killed yearly for consumption all around BCS. Since November 2007, a team of researchers is conducting a study on green turtle short-term movements inside the lagoon (Tracking Baja s black turtles, Earthwatch expedition), catching turtles, marking them with a GPS/VHF, releasing and tracking them. In 2008, children from the lagoon were invited for one day at the camp where the team was based to learn more about turtles in the lagoon and the project. During this meeting it was found out that most of the kids had eaten sea turtle meat at least once in their life, and that this was practically the only contact they had ever had with turtles. Thus we decided to organize the first San Ignacio Lagoon Sea turtle Camp, to give kids from local communities an opportunity to interact with live turtles and raise awareness on their conservation and importance for the lagoon eco-system. Our Objective By sharing with the children the wide-ranging research being done at the Laguna since 2007, we hoped to give them a new perspective on these animals and the threats to them and make them aware of conservation efforts underway. We hoped to inspire members of the next generation to protect endangered sea turtles that, up to now, are considered mainly as a food source. Participants Fifteen kids between 9 and 13 y.o. coming from Santa Rosalia, San Ignacio and Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos (Bahia Magdalena) took part to the 1 st San Ignacio Lagoon Sea turtle Camp. Along with the kids, 2 representatives from the Biosphere Reserve of Vizcaino and 2 from ProCaguama (a local non-profit organization working to reduce bycatch of loggerhead turtles in Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos) were also invited to share their experience and assist with the educational activities. Crew (in alphabetical order): Adilene Mayoral (Educator), Agnese Mancini (Marine biologist), Clara Soriano (Marine biologist), Emigdio Heredia (Camp keeper), Raul Lopez (Camp owner and assistant chef), Rob Templeton (Mechanical Engineer), Tula (Chef).

3 The camp Day 1 Participants from Santa Rosalia and San Ignacio arrived at around 12 p.m., they had a quick lunch and then we all went for a swim on the beach in front of the camp. People from Lopez Mateos arrived at 4 p.m. after an 8hr-long journey. With the group finally complete, the organizers gave a welcome speech to the kids explaining the objectives of this camp: learn things about sea turtles, meet new friends, enjoy a variety of hands-on activities and have fun. Then together kids and adults established the rules of the camp, including among others, respecting each other, Fig.1 Kids from Lopez Mateos posing listening when someone was speaking, not making fun of in front of the welcome poster. other kids, taking care of the facilities and respecting the environment by not wasting water, not throwing garbage and not disturbing live animals. The introduction to the camp ended with a tour, an explanation of how to use the facilities, and then kids were allocated their cabins. Finally the camp started and as a first activity, participants were asked to put their name on a white t-shirt and then paint it with whatever they liked. They were given small plastic turtles to use as model as well as other animals. The kids used a lot of imagination and the result was lots of very artistic t-shirts hanging out of the palapa to dry. After that there was a break during which all kids could go outside to run and play together. At this moment, two of the staff members secretly left the palapa to go and catch turtles. Fig.3 What s a sea turtle? After the break, kids were given a short talk on sea turtles, focusing in particular Fig.2 Painting T-shirts. on their life history and all the threats they have to face to get to the adult age. They had then dinner and, as a last activity for the day, were asked to list things we can do to help protect sea turtles which included not throwing plastic bags at sea and not eating them. Meanwhile, Ranulfo, Rob and Agnese set the net to catch turtles. After 6 hours, one was finally caught around 1 a.m., after which the team decided to pull up the net and go back to the camp. The turtle was then transported to the palapa and an enclosure was built for its safety.

4 Day 2 The second day started very early for the kids and with a big surprise, a turtle waiting for them in the palapa!! All very curious, the kids watched it moving in its enclosure and were looking forward to release it. First thing, the turtle was measured, weighted and tagged. After naming our new friend Tugui (from tortuga), all the group went outside and, under Rob s guide, the young turtle was released with all the kids clapping hands and chanting Tugi-Tugi-Tugi!. After watching Tugui swim away, all the group went back to the palapa for another tasty breakfast and then started the first activity of the day, which Fig.4 Measuring Tugui. consisted in building and painting turtle-shaped picture frame made of recycled cardboard and ringpulls. As with the T-shirts, kids were very creative and painted a variety of colourful turtle picture frames. During a little break, before going to Pelican Island, the kids played the garbage game, aimed at showing how fast garbage can be accumulated and potentially destroy marine life. As soon as the wind calmed down, the group left the camp to spend the day on Pelican Island. Spread into two pangas, kids enjoyed the nice trip and one group also saw a turtle breathing out of the water. Arrived on the island, kids went for a swim and spent time watching sea life and playing together. After lunch, the tracking competition started: kids were divided into three groups (Blue, Red and White) and were asked to find one of the three VHF tags hidden previously in the island. Fig.5 Leaving for Isla Pelicano. After a briefing on how to use the antenna to track radio tags, the game started and each group went searching for its own tag, one group at the time. The winner group, the fastest one, was promised a delicious chocolate cake once back at the camp. The White group being the winner, the kids decided to share the cake they won with their friends. After that we tried to track Tugui from the top of the island but no signal was received. Fig.6 tracking game. Around 6 p.m. we all went back to the camp for a shower, dinner and for another activity all together. Kids were asked to invent a short story on sea turtles and bycatch based on their morning experience (see appendix 2 for a translated version). All very tired, kids reached their cabins and went to bed.

5 Day 3 Last camp day...kids woke up at around 8, had breakfast and then the day started with the first activity: building sea turtles using recycled material like cardboard and fruit packages. Again the kids painted very surprising turtles, adding details like transmitters and tags. After that we made a break playing the Dolphin echolocation game, aimed at teaching the kids how hard it is for a dolphin to chase a prey using only its sonar. Fig.7 Turtle ornaments. Back inside, the kids had to prepare the stage props and masks for the play. When all the material was ready, the kids rehearsed the play...not without laughing and kidding and rearranging the original text. Finally lunch time arrived, kids ate and then went for a beach walk before the big show!! Public started to come in at around 2 p.m. and as soon as they were all settle down, the show began. Kids were very nervous but managed to do a great show. Parts of it are available in video format. Fig.8 The young actors with props & masks. After the show, we played one last game before the closing ceremony. During the closing ceremony, kids were asked to come on-by-one and collect the crafts they made during the camp and were also given a bag and stickers from Grupo Tortuguero. After that they wrote their acknowledgments and thoughts about the camp on a big poster. Before the final farewell, we all ate the famous chocolate cake won by the White group during the tracking game. Farewells were very sad, with kids hugging each other, promising to stay in contact and hoping to come back soon. Where to go from here: The camp was with no doubt a success considering that is was a first experience at the lagoon, even if there are things that can and must be improved. As the kids showed so much enthusiasm in coming back, we are thinking about transforming this in a yearly event, with more activities and more kids involved. Many ideas are already under discussion, in particular we would like to include also kids from other communities like Ejido Bonfil or Santa Marta, on the road between Santa Rosalia and San Ignacio, in the Vizcaino region, who do not have very often the possibility to interact with live turtles. Acknowledgement First of all, we would like to thank Pam and Tessa Chesonis for their financial support, without which this camp would not have been possible. A huge thank you to Ecoturismo Kuyima (in particular to Raul, Emigdio and Tula) for logistic support, the amazing food and for keeping the camp always in order. We also would like to thank Rafael, Raymundo and Fatima from the Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve and Liliana and Antonio from ProCaguama for their support in organizing and managing some of the activities. A big thank you also goes to Ranulfo and Maldo, our turtle guides, for their great job. Last but not least...a big thank you to the kids of the first lagoon sea turtle summer camp to make this event unforgetable for all of us.

6 Appendix 1 Camp Programme Day 1 4 pm: opening and Welcome speech 5 pm: Activity 1 Painting T-shirts 6 p.m: Break 6:30 pm: Turtle lecture What s a sea turtle? 7:30 pm: Dinner 8:30 pm: Group discussion What can we do to protect turtles? 9:30 pm: Bed time Day 2 7 am: Activity 1 Measuring, tagging and releasing a turtle 9 am: Breakfast 10 am: Activity 2 Build turtle shaped picture frames 10:30 am Break 11 am: Depart to Pelican island 3 pm: Activity 3 Tracking game 5:30 pm: Depart from the island 6 to 7 pm: Shower and dinner time 8 pm: Activity 4 Invent a story on sea turtle bycatch 9:30 pm: Bed time Day 3 7:30 am: Breakfast 8 am: Activity 1 Build sea turtle ornaments 9 am: Break 10 am: Activity 2 Make stage props and masks for the play 11 am: Activity 3 Rehearsal 12:30 pm Lunch 2 pm: Activity 4 The Play 3 pm: Closing session 4 pm: Farewells

7 Appendix 2 The play script (translated from Spanish) Title: The story of Tugui Characters: A narrator 3 turtles (0ne named Tugui, one named Triki and one with no name) 2 sharks 2 fish 6 fishermen Narrator: Once upon a time a turtle was swimming in the sea. Suddenly a boat arrived and a net was thrown in the water. The turtle was caught in the net with other two turtles, two sharks and two fish. However, the fishermen on the boat were kids from the Sea Turtle Camp. Fish 1: Help!! Help!!! Turtle 1: I think these fishermen are bad because they caught us!! Triki (turtle 2): I don t think they are bad, I have already gone through all this. Shark 1: I think they can t be any good, they only want to kill us!! Turtle 3: I agree with the shark!! Triki: Don t trust the shark, I have already been caught and the kids released me!! Fish 2: They catch us only to eat us!! Fishermen/Kids: Let s pull the net now!! Narrator: The kids pulled the net and released the sharks and fish. The three turtles were untangled and kept on the boat. When the kids realized that one of the turtles had a tag on the flipper, they immediately released her. Triki was free again and was swimming in the sea when she met one of the sharks. Shark: Where are your friends? Triki: The kids kept them! Shark: I tried to warn you, but you didn t believe me! Humans are bad!! Triki: I don t think so!! The kids only want to protect us!! And look, they released you!! They are good!! Narrator: In the meantime, the kids brought the turtles on the beach. Turtles were scared but the kids tried to calm them down keeping them wet. Finally they measured and weighted them and tagged them putting a metal tag on their rear flippers. One turtle was named Tugui. After that, the two turtles were released. Narrator: Once at sea, the turtles met the shark and he looked very surprised. Shark 1: You here? Are you still alive? Tugui: yes, the kids are good!! They released us!!

8 Narrator: So year after year there were more and more tagged turtles and the kids came to visit them at the lagoon and kept protecting them. The turtles were no more afraid and started playing again with the kids. -END-