Civil associations came together to remove almost two tons of garbage in the Grand Costa Maya coastal region.
Members of civil associations in favor of the environment, as well as volunteer residents of Mahahual and even tourists, removed almost two tons of garbage in sea turtle nesting areas in the Grand Costa Maya area.
Víctor Rosales Hernández, president of the civil association “Aak Mahahual Project”, reported that from April to May they carried out four days of cleaning operations in sea turtle nesting areas, on beaches north of the community of Mahahual.
He said that in those four arduous days of cleaning, they collected 1.9 tons of garbage. Among the plastic waste that is removed from the coasts are products generated in Colombia, Nicaragua, Jamaica and even Haiti, garbage that ends up on the beaches of the Grand Costa Maya.
Rosales Hernández indicated that on the third day, more than 500 kilos of garbage were removed; In the second they accumulated 300 kilos of solid waste and in the first they collected 500 kilos.
The president of the “Aak Mahahual Project” added that garbage or solid waste can move through all the rivers and oceans of the world, and accumulate on beaches and in ocean gyres, and this waste damages physical habitats, transports chemical pollutants, threatens aquatic life and interferes with the use human development of rivers and fluvial, marine and coastal environments.
He pointed out that the sea turtle nesting season on the Grand Costa began on May 1 and ends on October 30, 2024, and in these first weeks of the season, they have already recorded three nests of the Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) on beaches located north of the town of Mahahual.
He added that, on the coasts of the Grand Costa Maya, in the south of the Mexican Caribbean, the arrival of up to 400 sea turtles has been recorded, and that the chelonians take between 15 and 25 years to reproduce, in addition to every thousand eggs that hatch, only one reaches adulthood.
Finally, Rosales Hernández added that during the season, sea turtles lay their eggs up to seven times, usually on the same beaches. The turtle is a protected species, so the consumption of turtle meat and eggs is permanently banned.
TYT Newsroom
