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The Biology of Sea Turtles, Vol. II
(Robinson, 1993; Musick, 1999). Other difficulties relate to socioeconomic sustainability (e.g., establishing incentives that encourage long- rather than short-term views
to use). Even when managed use schemes are believed to be biologically sound and
return economic benefits to local people, they may fail to gain support for conservation if control over resources is not devolved to local users. This lack of support
can translate into illegal use of managed resources and undermine overall sustainability. CBC, which in part arose in response to issues of control, is discussed in
Section 12.3.2.
12.3.1.2 Sustainable Use and Sea Turtle Conservation
Sustainable use projects that involve consumptive use of sea turtles for conservation
purposes are few. One example is egg collection at Ostional, Costa Rica (Campbell,
1998; Cornelius et al., 1991). Similar but less documented collections take place in
Panama (Evans and Vargas, 1998) and Nicaragua (Ruiz, 1994). These collections
are based on arribada nesting by olive ridleys, i.e., mass nesting that destroys many
eggs, and the Ostional project is the only olive ridley collection where commercial
sale of eggs is legal. In Suriname, leatherback and green turtle eggs that would
otherwise be inundated and/or washed by an eroding shoreline are collected by both
communities and the government agency responsible for national parks. Collected
eggs are sold, and generate public support for conservation as well as income for
conservation activities (Mohadin, 2000).
In other places, use of turtles or eggs is allowed, but at such low levels that
biological sustainability is not a prime concern. These are instances of what might
be termed minimal compensatory use. For example, a small harvest of leatherback
eggs by the community at Gandoca was allowed in the Gandoca and Manzanillo
Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, until the late 1990s. Such compensatory use programs
seek to ensure community support for broader conservation goals:
Information collected from Gandoca residents shows that community support for the
project will increase, and poaching by locals will be reduced if local residents are permitted to consume moderate numbers of eggs in a controlled manner. In many cases it
appears that what matters is not so much whether a given family obtains eggs as that
they do not feel prohibited from doing so.
ANAI, 1995
This type of compensatory collection has also been seen with some adult fishing
operations. Examples from Tortuguero National Park and Limon, Costa Rica, have
been discussed (Section 12.2.1.1). Similarly, in 1980 in one region of Mexico, the
government switched from a closed turtle fishing season to a quota system that
allowed 250 male green turtles to be used by a local cooperative. This had the impact
of changing the attitudes of coop members, who stopped illegal use and began to
accept the turtle recovery program (Clifton et al., 1995).
Sustainable use is controversial in sea turtle conservation. The Marine Turtle
Specialist Group (MTSG) of the IUCN has promoted a no-use stance for most of
its history (Campbell, 2002a). For example, the 1979 World Conference on Sea
1123 book.book Page 326 Thursday, November 14, 2002 11:50 AM
The Biology of Sea Turtles, Vol. II
(Robinson, 1993; Musick, 1999). Other difficulties relate to socioeconomic sustainability (e.g., establishing incentives that encourage long- rather than short-term views
to use). Even when managed use schemes are believed to be biologically sound and
return economic benefits to local people, they may fail to gain support for conservation if control over resources is not devolved to local users. This lack of support
can translate into illegal use of managed resources and undermine overall sustainability. CBC, which in part arose in response to issues of control, is discussed in
Section 12.3.2.
12.3.1.2 Sustainable Use and Sea Turtle Conservation
Sustainable use projects that involve consumptive use of sea turtles for conservation
purposes are few. One example is egg collection at Ostional, Costa Rica (Campbell,
1998; Cornelius et al., 1991). Similar but less documented collections take place in
Panama (Evans and Vargas, 1998) and Nicaragua (Ruiz, 1994). These collections
are based on arribada nesting by olive ridleys, i.e., mass nesting that destroys many
eggs, and the Ostional project is the only olive ridley collection where commercial
sale of eggs is legal. In Suriname, leatherback and green turtle eggs that would
otherwise be inundated and/or washed by an eroding shoreline are collected by both
communities and the government agency responsible for national parks. Collected
eggs are sold, and generate public support for conservation as well as income for
conservation activities (Mohadin, 2000).
In other places, use of turtles or eggs is allowed, but at such low levels that
biological sustainability is not a prime concern. These are instances of what might
be termed minimal compensatory use. For example, a small harvest of leatherback
eggs by the community at Gandoca was allowed in the Gandoca and Manzanillo
Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, until the late 1990s. Such compensatory use programs
seek to ensure community support for broader conservation goals:
Information collected from Gandoca residents shows that community support for the
project will increase, and poaching by locals will be reduced if local residents are permitted to consume moderate numbers of eggs in a controlled manner. In many cases it
appears that what matters is not so much whether a given family obtains eggs as that
they do not feel prohibited from doing so.
ANAI, 1995
This type of compensatory collection has also been seen with some adult fishing
operations. Examples from Tortuguero National Park and Limon, Costa Rica, have
been discussed (Section 12.2.1.1). Similarly, in 1980 in one region of Mexico, the
government switched from a closed turtle fishing season to a quota system that
allowed 250 male green turtles to be used by a local cooperative. This had the impact
of changing the attitudes of coop members, who stopped illegal use and began to
accept the turtle recovery program (Clifton et al., 1995).
Sustainable use is controversial in sea turtle conservation. The Marine Turtle
Specialist Group (MTSG) of the IUCN has promoted a no-use stance for most of
its history (Campbell, 2002a). For example, the 1979 World Conference on Sea
1123 book.book Page 326 Thursday, November 14, 2002 11:50 AM