Facts

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, “Olive Ridleys and their eggs have been harvested, mostly unsustainably, worldwide… and there is documentation of recent egg use causing declines. From México to Colombia, Olive Ridley eggs have been and still are used for personal and commercial use” (Lagueux 1989, Arauz 2000, Campbell 2007, Cornelius et al. 2007).

Although there is a common concern to protect the turtles, turtle laws regulating turtle egg use vary among countries, and even where laws prohibit egg use, illegal use of Olive Ridley eggs is believed to be widespread because enforcement is either non-existent or insufficient. And on unprotected solitary nesting beaches (most are unprotected) egg extraction often approaches 100% (Cornelius 2007). Ostional is protected, but there is no consensus as to how many eggs are actually taken.

To this day, Costa Rica is the only country that allows a legal poach of sea turtle eggs (National Research Council {U.S.}. Committee on Sea Turtle Conservation). To further this evidence, two more organizations support the conservation efforts of Olive Ridleys as vital. The organization for sea turtle conservation in Costa Rica has noted drastic declines in turtle population over the last 60 years as a result of: egg gathering, the killing of nesting females, shrimp trawling, and other fishing practices (costaricaturtles.org).  And the World Wildlife Fund states, “Once slaughtered in the hundreds of thousands for meat and leather, Olive Ridleys have yet to recover from centuries of over-exploitation. While the species has a wide range, the number of important breeding sites is very restricted, so efforts to protect their major beaches are vital.”