New Mexican Law Protects Sea Turtles

Mexico is famous for being the sea turtle capital of the world where people can interact with them along the beautiful coastline.

Sea turtles are considered endangered species by law which protects them from being killed. However, the law does not cover the safety of the sea turtle habitat particularly their nesting grounds.

The good news is that Mexico had recently passed a law that provides protection to the nesting grounds of the sea turtles. In the past, only those considered as sanctuaries and reserves are protected by the government but now, all sites are covered.

Here are just some of the changes this law implements.

Protecting Local Habitat

It is not allowed to remove any vegetation within the nesting habitat. This causes the sands to erode and wipe out the nesting areas. This will benefit especially the seriously endangered hawksbill sea turtle that nests further away than other species.

Removal of artificial lights

Artificial lights interrupt with the nesting activities of the turtles as it confuse the female turtles and imperil the hatchlings. These baby turtles use the normal light to lead them to the sea and artificial lights can mislead them. They may be get worn out or killed by predators. The new law appeals to people to keep away these lights from the nesting grounds. Authorities will soon check compliance especially from the hotels nearby.

Spectators' Limit

People await release of the newly-hatched sea turtles and hotels offer their guests a chance to witness this. However, the organizers confine these turtles until they have reached the headcount they need. When these turtles were released, they are too weak due to long confinement which made them vulnerable. The law forbids this activity now.

The Mexican government did a great job for passing this law which only proves that people have the power to save the environment and endangered species.

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