Last week, officers from Fuerza Publica (the national police force of Costa Rica) assigned to the Caribbean region rescued a green sea turtle that was likely on its way to being butchered.

The incident occurred in the port city of Limon during an operation conducted by members of the Special Intervention Unit (Spanish initials: UIP), who were working together with Fuerza Publica officers to intercept trafficking of drugs and weapons. The UIP officers had reviewed intelligence reports about an earlier incident that occurred near the Moin docks, whereby five men were arrested in possession of a slaughtered hawksbill sea turtle, which was found in the trunk of a passenger car during a roadway checkpoint.

The information obtained by the UIP officers allowed them to intercept a passenger vehicle traveling near the Limon cemetery at night. The officers knew that the car is owned by a suspected poacher, and they also knew that poachers had been waiting to strike that night after a Fuerza Publica patrol had left a nesting beach. In the trunk of the car, an adult Chelonia mydas was upside down and resting on its shell with its flippers tied together with rope.

Four men by the last names of Solano, Gonzalez, Jimenez, and Umaña were detained and turned over to prosecutors. The suspects were probably aware of last week’s incident and took care of not transporting a butchered sea turtle, which could result in more severe charges. A biologist from the National Coast Guard Service of Costa Rica evaluated the turtle before taking it to the Jaguar Wildlife Rescue Center near Playa Cocles.

According to a recent news report filed by Jason Torres of online news daily CRHoy.com, these two incidents prompted the Nature Conservation Federation of Costa Rica (Spanish acronym: FECON) to call for more police officers to be assigned to the ongoing beach patrols. To this effect, FECON has called for the establishment of a coastal national park that would extend from the beach in Moin all the way down to the mouth of the Pacuare river. Doing so would turn most of the Caribbean province of Limon into a protected area such as Tortuguero, one of the most pristine and wildlife-rich places in the world.

Moreover, FECON believes that sea turtles should be included in the fisheries legislation of Costa Rica so that certain limits can be placed on the harvesting of eggs and catching of turtles for their meat. By regulating the catch and consumption of sea turtles in Costa Rica, FECON believes that poaching would subside.

It is important to note that the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is currently active in the Southern Caribbean beaches of Costa Rica as part of Operation Jairo, an effort to protect nesting sea turtles. After threats and attacks by poachers, Sea Shepherd volunteers have increased their own security, and the Coast Guard has also increased their presence in the Pacuare sector.