BFF-07 122 sea turtles found dead on Mexico beach

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ZCZC

BFF-07

MEXICO-ANIMAL-ENVIRONMENT

122 sea turtles found dead on Mexico beach

TUXTLA GUTIERREZ, Mexico, Aug 18, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Mexican authorities said
Friday they found 122 sea turtles dead on a beach in the southern state of
Chiapas, mostly from an endangered species.

The cause of death was not immediately clear, though around 10 percent of
the turtles had wounds to the head or shell and showed signs of injuries from
fish hooks or fishing nets, the environment ministry said in a statement.

It said authorities had not been able to carry out autopsies “due to the
advanced state of decomposition in which they were found.”

The turtles were found on the beaches of Puerto Arista, a small town on the
Pacific coast.

Most of them — 111 — were from the endangered Pacific Ridley species
(Lepidochelys olivacea).

Mexico banned the capture of sea turtles in 1990, but there is still a
lucrative black market for their eggs.

BSS/AFP/FI/ 0820 hrs