Venezuela's Island of Hope for Sea Turtles
3/1/96
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Island of Hope
by Juan Ignacio Cortifias and Javier Arreaza
Copyright 1996, The World Wide Fund For Nature
Access to an isolated turtle breeding ground in the Caribbean
enables FUDENA, WWF's Venezuelan associate, to do some pioneering
research
CARACAS, Venezuela- The small low-lying strip of land, just three
metres at the highest point, becomes visible only when you are
virtually on it. Welcome to Isla de Aves in the Caribbean, often
described as "your average desert island - without the palm tree".
Perhaps one of the least known places on earth, Isla de Aves'
ecological importance is silently restated by an annual rite: the
undisturbed, mating and nesting of hundreds of sea turtles. It has
also given FUDENA, the Venezuelan associate of WWF-World Wide Fund
For Nature, a chance to study the reptile in ideal conditions'.
Isla de Aves is a narrow, 580-metre-long, permanent sandbar 650
kms north of South America. It is at about the same latitude
as Dominica, right on the region's traditional hurricane path.
Inhospitable weather conditions have not allowed many species
to adapt to the place.
Humans didn't come near Aves until the colonization of America
was well under way. And then, often by mistake. The island was
very difficult for sailors to see at night. Given the remnants
of maritime disasters still visible on its shores, it brought
many sea voyages to a premature end.
Things have not changed that much. The few modest naval
constructions are overshadowed by thousands of sea birds hovering
above the windswept island. Their shrieks seem intended to remind
humans this place is not for them.
Several species of marine and migratory birds, including the
peregrine falcon (Folco peregrinus) and the laughing gull(Larus
atricilla), do live or stop on the island during migration.
However, its role as a turtle nesting ground was the only reason
it was frequented by fishermen from other islands in search of
the reptiles and their eggs. In 1972, the Venezuelan government
declared Isla de Aves a protected area. And in 1978 it
established a permanent guardpost. One year later it granted
FUDENA permission to study the large reptiles on a regular basis,
in collaboration with the navy.
Venezuelan navy vessels make the 18-hour trip from the port of
La Guaira about once a month, which means long stretches of
isolation for researchers. But this also provides them an
excellent opportunity to study turtle populations, reproduction,
and migratory movements in a fairly undisturbed environment.
"Every year up to 600 females come to the Isla de Aves to lay
their eggs," says Genaro S016, Sea Turtle Programme Coordinator
at FUDENA and an island research veteran. "The opportunity to be
in such close contact with nature, its forces and processes,
compensates for the hardships of isolation."
Sol6 himself has endured two hurricanes, taking refuge inside
the island's fibreglass barracks. But the programme's success
has kept him and fellow researchers, Jesils Ziegler and Franco
Lombardi, going. Over the years, they have tagged more than 4,000
adult turtles, as part of an international -effort to track turtle
migrations around the Caribbean.
Among other things, investigations conducted on the island have
shown that green turtles (Chelonia mydas), the species most
commonly found in the area, can travel up to 2,000 kms to
feeding grounds on the coasts of Nicaragua, Brazil, and the
Dominican Republic. Some go as far as Mexico.
Conservation measures to increase the ratio of hatchlings that-
make it to the sea, by giving them protection from natural
predators that have other food sources, have also met with great
success.
"During 16 years, we estimate that almost 2 million hatchlings
have made it to the sea at the Isla de Aves," says Sol6.
"But it's too early to tell if the population is increasing.
Only the females.will ever come back, and that's not for another
20 to 30 years, when they are ready to reproduce and make their
nests. So we must wait until 2008 to start assessing results."
Meanwhile, on the mainland, a very active turtle adoption
programme allows the general public to supply badly needed funds
to the project. The programme offers "adoptive parents" progress
and sighting reports.
In the meantime, there will be plenty of counting, tagging,
routine, and boredom. When not working, staff read or play ping
pong or volleyball with military personnel. But it is projects
like this that help restore some of what has been so wantonly
decimated by man.
* Juan Ignacio Cortiflas is the Press Coordinator at FUDENA in
Caracas.
* Javier Arreaza is a Press Officer with WWF International in
Gland.