From 8 – 14 May 2006 a team representing the TSA was in Mexico for the purpose of expanding our involvement there, particularly with Dermatemys. The team consisted of Greg George, his employee Adam Edelstein, Brian Horne and I, and between the four of us we visited three states including Veracruz, Oaxaca and Tabasco. The group was together for the first three days (8-10 May) then Greg and Adam left for Tabasco to continue their work at the turtle farm at Nacajuca. This is their third year of involvement at this farm and the project was partially funded by the Batchelor Foundation grant this year. We are looking to expand the funding for Dermatemys from Batchelor this coming year and the primary purpose of this trip was to meet some of the primary players in Mexican turtle conservation and to discuss what the project would optimally entail. Brian lived in Veracruz for five years doing turtle research and knows the system and various organizations there; his co-worker during that time, Miguel Angel de la Torre Loranca, accompanied us during the week and was invaluable in interpreting, driving, and acting as a guide. He is also an excellent herpetologist.

We were hosted on Day 1 by the staff at the Center for Coastal Studies at La Mancha (CICOLMA) which is managed by the Institute of Ecology (INECOL). The La Mancha site is a Ramsar designated site that recognizes internationally important wetlands. Our primary host was Gustavo Aguirre of INECOL and a long-time turtle conservation biologist in Mexico. They want to develop a “model” Dermatemys facility and have an excellent infrastructure to support it.

Research labs, dormitories, service facilities, meeting rooms are all there; perhaps just as exciting is a group of local eco-guides and an adjacent ecotourism area with cabanas for overnight visitor stays. The guides are particularly excited about the potential of developing turtle facilities and offered to help with maintenance and upkeep of the proposed ponds. Another important aspect is the constant presence of staff and students, both national and foreign, so security and manpower will not be an issue. We spent a good deal of time looking at the available space and discussing pond and filtration design. We envision a low-maintenance, low -cost system that generates much of the plant food source in the filtration ponds. This is needed because of the turtle farms that are working with Dermatemys in Mexico, none are really doing it well and we believe we can design a good working model. Another positive aspect of developing a project at this facility is the excellent potential for partner involvement. For a $600 ticket to Veracruz, and very reasonable accommodations, this would be a fun place for partners to come for a working vacation. After a hard day’s work you walk down to the beach for fresh fish and cerveza, its right on the coast.

The next day we traveled to the Rio Cana in the La Popetera Lagoon (another Ramsar site) in the vast and productive wetlands of the Papaloapan Basin in coastal Veracruz. There we met with a group of turtle trappers, some of who want to explore alternative sources of income; a few have already abandoned turtle hunting. These trappers are a valuable source of information on the local abundance of Dermatemys and harvesting pressures. We discussed some innovative “aquaculture style” floating turtle rearing enclosures for Dermatemys and Greg is working up specs and cost estimates on this now. If successful this could develop into a model technique for rearing turtles naturally, at low cost and impact; the food is free as the area is choked with water hyacinth and other edible aquatic vegetation.

We visited a number of other facilities in Veracruz over the next two days, most notable the La Florida fish and turtle farm that has a group of 50 adult and 35 F1 Dermatemys. They breed Dermatemys for sale in the international pet trade and I believe most hatchlings go to Japan. They have some truly monstrous specimens there, being kept in limited facilities with breeding fish stock due to space constraints. Dr. Sam Rivera a TSA Steering Committee member, visited this farm with Gracia Syed recently and can comment more on the situation for those who are interested. The owner Basilio Sanchez provided us with some interesting information on clutch size, breeding season, # clutches, age of sexual maturity, onset of male color change, etc.

Summarizing the Dermatemys leg of the trip in Veracruz, and I ask Greg and Brian to share their impressions as well, but I believe that we are on the verge of being able to launch a model program for turtle conservation in Mexico. One that will have community support and involvement and that should develop some cutting edge rearing techniques that, if successful, could supply the demand for Dermatemys meat while taking pressure off of wild populations. I think this is something that TSA should be involved with and believe that it offers great potential for fund-raising. Particularly appealing is the ability to attract matching funds from the Mexican government; we were told that foreign dollars coming in for projects such as this are often matched dollar for dollar.

From Veracruz we drove across the isthmus to coastal Oaxaca on the Pacific side of Mexico. Following Dick Vogt’s advice we spent Saturday, May 13, at the National Turtle Center of Mexico, in Masunte, where we were hosted by Director Martha Harfush. Originally built as an Aquarium, and now converted for turtles, it was established primarily as a sea turtle facility. However they have expanded their operations to include a wide range of Mexican freshwater and terrestrial turtles, some of which are reproducing quite well. We were particularly impressed with their Rhinoclemys programs, including R. aerolata, R. p. pulcherrima and R. rubida, a beautiful little gem that is rarely seen except in the rainy season (see photo). Unfortunately 15 of their group of 20 rubida were stolen in January 2006, not surprising considering their value on the international market; they are a highly sought species. They want to re-establish their rubida breeding program and will likely rebuild their colony with public donations during the upcoming rainy season. They want to build a new and secure (theft proof) exhibit for rubida and I would like to see the TSA support them on this endeavor. I think they will make an excellent partner for us in Mexico and we have invited Martha to attend the TSA conference this year to describe their facility. Again this facility would offer similar opportunities for partner involvement with free to cheap accommodations, reasonable airfare and beach proximity.