Officials of Costa Rica’s National Coast Guard Service, as part of their mission to protect marine biodiversity, this weekend detained a man who had 136 Leatherback sea turtle eggs in his possession, reported the Public Security Ministry.

The Coast Guard’s environmental unit was on patrol in the Barra de Marina region, where the Parismina beach is one of the few Atlantic beaches worldwide where the giant turtles nest.

Leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) are the largest of all living turtles, and the only ones to have a leathery rather than a bony shell. Along the Costa Rican Caribbean coast, they nest between March and May and sometimes to June, according to environmentalists at the Coast Guard.

The suspect, a Costa Rican man by the last name of Martinez, was carrying the eggs in a bag. After officials consulted with the Limón public prosecutor, his arrest was ordered. He was subsequently released, and will be notified of a future court date, said the ministry press office.

Atlantic Leatherback sea turtles are just one of several of the species’ populations, and have a huge range. From as far north as the North Sea and south to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, these strong swimmers feed in cold waters, where an abundance of their jellyfish prey is found, according to Wikipedia.

Of the few beaches on both sides of the Atlantic where they nest, the Mayumba National Park in Gabon, Central Africa is the most popular, hosting nearly 30,000 turtles each year between October and April, according to Wikipedia.

The eggs captured this weekend were brought to the Las Tortugas sea turtle project in Limón where most of the 136 eggs are expected to hatch into Leatherback turtles, and thus “not end up in the mouths of visitors to Limon’s bars,” said the Coast Guard.

The officers increase their patrols during turtle nesting seasons to prevent such looting, said the Coast Guard.

According to the Coast Guard’s environmental department, other turtles that nest on the Caribbean include the Green turtle (Chelonia mydas) from May to August, and the Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) from May to November.

These three sea turtles also nest on some Pacific beaches, but at other times of the year. In additional, Olive Ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) can be nest practically year round, but more so during the Pacific rainy season, only on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast.