Hundreds of sea turtles die in Colima due to illegal fishing nets

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Every year from June to December, hundreds of turtles come to spawn at Armería, Tecomán and Manzanillo beaches of the state of Colima, but many of them are trapped in illegal fishing nets.

According to a report presented by Colima state authorities, about 100 turtles have died from this cause.

Dead turtle (Archive)

“And an estimate was made of more or less than 100 dead turtles per year approximately, from these the sample was taken and it was identified that indeed about 96% of the turtles showed some damage by trammel,” reported Semarnat in Colima .

Fishermen have noted that most turtles are killed by shrimp boats using large tracts of fishing nets.

” Shrimp boats kill everything, it is the most predatory fishing method, it is the truth, shrimp boats are those who kill the most sea turtles,” said a fisherman .

After being caught in the sea, some turtles were found dead on the sand strip and only 2% were butchered on the beaches to take advantage of their meat, heart or fins (which is illegal, by the way).

Dead turtle (Archive)

Civil Protection conducts tours to inhibit the death of turtles and the looting of their nests.

“Together with Civil Protection we are generating these operations; however, unfortunately, dead turtles or nests that have already been looted can be observed all over the place”, concluded José Manuel Gutiérrez Plazola, Director of Civil Protection .

The authorities have also pointed out that another cause of death of the turtles is the pollution of the seas, by parasites, and some turtles also die by natural predation.

Source: 24 horas

The Colima Post