Asociación Salvemos las Tortugas de Parismina (Spanish) (English: Association for Saving the Turtles of Parismina or ASTOP), is a community-based, non profit, conservation organization based in

Parismina Barra del Parismina is a village of about 500 people located on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, at the mouth of the Reventazón River. Parismina is about halfway between Tortuguero and Limón on the Tortuguero canals. There is no road to Pari ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

, dedicated to protecting sea turtles and their eggs from poaching while initiating sustainable development and providing a viable alternative economy to poaching in the village. While the turtles used to be hunted as a food source by inhabitants, a recent increase in poaching has been seriously threatening the population. In April 2001, local residents and the Costa Rican Coast Guard initiated ASTOP. Prior to the formation of ASTOP, 98% of the green turtles were killed for their meat and 98% of all three species of turtles' nests were poached on Parismina beach. Since the project started, poaching has decreased to 38%. In addition to saving 10,000 neonates annually, ASTOP economically supports approximately one third of the village.

Sea turtles

Four species of

sea turtles Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, ...

nest on the beaches at Parismina, each during its own season. Several of these are hovering on the brink of extinction, particularly the

leatherback sea turtle The leatherback sea turtle (''Dermochelys coriacea''), sometimes called the lute turtle or leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptile, reaching lengths of up to and weights ...

. While it is mostly leatherbacks and

green sea turtle The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exten ...

s who nest in the black sand dunes of the beaches near Parismina;

hawksbill turtle The hawksbill sea turtle (''Eretmochelys imbricata'') is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Eretmochelys''. The species has a global distribution, that is large ...

s are occasionally found and loggerheads have been reported, but are rarely seen. Because of their nutritional value and their supposedly aphrodisiac properties, it is mostly the sea turtles eggs that the poachers seek. However the green sea turtle is also hunted for her meat and shell, with which

tortoiseshell Tortoiseshell or tortoise shell is a material produced from the shells of the larger species of tortoise and turtle, mainly the hawksbill sea turtle, which is a critically endangered species according to the IUCN Red List largely because of its ...

objects can be crafted.Le Guern Lytle, Claire. "Sea Turtle Egg Poaching Legalized in Costa Rica: The Debate ." Coastal Care. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Dec 2010. .

Conservation

The core of the work done by the association is done at night during patrols, when team of volunteers and guides walk the beach. Upon encountering a nesting turtle, the team guards the surroundings to collect her eggs and fend off poachers. The eggs are then brought back to a guarded hatchery, where they undergo their normal development cycle. After hatching, the newborns are collected and released at different locations along the beach during a patrol similar to that which collected them several weeks before.

References

External links

Village of Parismina

ASTOP website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asociacion Salvemos las Tortugas de Parismina Environmental organizations based in Costa Rica Animal welfare organizations based in Costa Rica