There are seven sea turtle species worldwide, and six of them return to Mexico’s shores each year to lay eggs. According to the World Wildlife Fund, all six species are “currently in danger of MLB Jerseys extinction.” For Aranda, this reality is daunting.
“The sea turtles have been here since the dinosaurs,” he said. “Turtles are basically the link between the land and the ocean, and that movement is very important for many animals. Some species keep the reefs healthy, and there are many animals that depend on [sea] turtles to survive. They continue the life cycle.”
Aranda’s group, which is also known as Vallarta Rescue, is nonprofit and relies entirely on private donations. To earn a living, Aranda works during the day as an ecotourism boat driver. At sunset, he heads out to what he calls the perfect job in the perfect place.
“We go out to the beach and we wait for the turtles to come,” he said. “Sometimes we may see one, sometimes there are 13. It all depends. We might miss a turtle, and then we dig for the nest she NBA Jerseys left behind. We have to be there all night.”
Twenty years ago, the Mexican government outlawed commercial fishing of sea turtles. It started fining people up to $16,000 for killing turtles or trafficking turtle eggs, turtle meat or products manufactured with turtle hides. But Mexico still has one of the highest rates of turtle poaching in the world.
Aranda believes the poaching business is sustained by cultural curiosity and tradition, not financial profit. A single turtle egg sells for about 50 cents.
“I think it’s how the people feel eating something forbidden,” he said. “They want to try what is illegal, but [they also] believe the eggs are aphrodisiacs and they want to feel more strong. They have Christian Louboutin shoes seen their parents and their grandparents eating them, and it’s a way of thinking that is very hard to change.”
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