Hundreds of sea turtles die in Mexico

At least 300 sea turtles have died on the Pacific coast of Mexico.

Preliminary examinations suggest olive ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) have drowned, a Mexican environmental ministry official said.

The official said they had likely become entangled in illegal fishing nets on the high seas or in abandoned nets known as “ghost nets”.

Olive ridley turtles are listed as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The IUCN says their population is decreasing and they are listed as vulnerable because they only nest in a limited number of places.

The turtles were found on Morro Ayuta Beach in Oaxaca on the west coast of Mexico. The beach is one of the places where olive turtles come to lay their eggs.

All of the dead animals were female, turtle expert Ernesto Albavera Padilla told local media.

It is not the first time that large numbers of olive turtles have been found dead in Oaxaca. In 2018, fishermen found 300 of them entangled in fishing nets.

Mexico banned the capture of sea turtles in 1990 and there are severe penalties for anyone who kills them.

Officials said the Mexican Navy will join environmental authorities in their investigation of the deaths.