ASUPMATOMA Sea Turtle Nursery - Baja, Mexico
Current Activities

TURTLE ACTIVITY UPDATES 2003-2004
TURTLE ACTIVITY UPDATES IN 2001
The leatherback camp at Aqua Blanca is in full swing for the first season. Fifty leatherback body pits have been recorded and 14 turtles tagged on the beach with eight of them also marked with "pits." Pits are the new tags which may be scanned by other scientists when discovered to determine where the turtle nests.

In 2001:

  • San Cristobal nursery - 10,389 eggs out of 104 nests
  • Suspiro nursery - 39,337 eggs out of 390 nests
  • Total nests from both nurseries is 494 (16 of these are leatherbacks)
  • With a total egg collection of 49,726 to date
  • Current season successful hatchling releases: over 30,000

ASUPMATOMA is very excited to welcome an increase in participation by Hubbs Sea World Research Institute and Se Pesca. More hands, however, are always needed!! We are looking for volunteers (especially those with past experience) to aid us in our conservation efforts.

For the 1999-2000 season we were able to open a new camp on the beach known as "El Suspiro" (the sigh). With the help of a loan, made to the association by Dale and Adrianne Forrester to cut a road, this new camp allowed us to patrol a 16 mile stretch of beach from Suspiro south to El Faro Viejo (the old lighthouse). We have successfully patrolled and protected the nests that have for years been destroyed by humans due to proximity of the town to Cabo San Lucas.

ASUPMATOMA has expanded the Environmental Education Program to include local 4th through 12th graders and university biology students from around the world. Online Interactive Learning is offered by following the study we have developed with the support of Dr. Scott Eckert of Hubbs Sea World Research and the P.A.D.I. Project Aware Foundation. Use the internet to follow our efforts and to learn where the Leatherback turtles go from Baja California Sur. "Josephina" is the first Leatherback ever tagged from the shores of the Pacific Ocean in Baja California, Mexico.

Follow Regina
Follow Fernanda Regina who was tagged Janurary 20th, 2003 thanks to a kind $10,000 donation from Club Regina in Cabo San Lucas. Map of Fernanda Regina's Travels. Fernanda Regina was tracked heading towards the Galapagos Islands and she returned twice to nest on our sands during 2003-2004 .



ASUPMATOMA's Sandy Mirisch & Josephina

Stay tuned to the "Map of Josephina's Travels".

ASUPMATOMA in 1999 initiated an "Adopt a Highway" program. On December 11, 1999 the mayor of the country of Cabo San Lucas and other state and federal officials were present at the ceremony where local businesses received official signs that were placed on the highway giving them recognition and establishing their commitment to keep the highway clean of trash. This trash ended up in the arroyos which went directly into the ocean where turtles feed.
For accommodations and eco-tour information, please contact Sandy Mirisch at: sandy@dmirisch.com

One of ASUPMATOMA's turtle nurseries

Our current project and operation is concerned mainly in the protection of the marine turtles. We organized a group of people interested in the protection of our environment and endangered species to be part of our association and to assist us with their time, input and donations. With this idea in mind the association's first objective has been achieved: the nursery at Rancho San Cristobal, the Conservation Camps, and the nurseries at El Suspiro and Cabo Pulmo.

Certain parts of this region are patrolled early mornings and nights by our volunteers who look for fresh turtle tracks and turtles laying their eggs. These eggs are then carefully collected and safely transported to a side corral where they are safely fenced and marked with data such as date and time the nest was found and replaced. Nests are then closely monitored and emerging hatchlings are immediately released into the ocean.

A nest of hatchlings scurry to the ocean

We are continuously accepting new volunteers to work with our staff biologist..This year, we have released Golfina and Leatherback hatchlings which were incubated within the hatchery, and protected additional eggs and hatchlings in their natural state on the beach.

Help us bring four High School ecology students from Mulege (northern Baja) to the ASUPMATOMA nurseries in the 2001 the nesting season. Just $10 will help fund their bus trip. Help us achieve Bi-National education and bring children together for Global Ecology.

Local students attend the Environmental Education Program

Another of our main goals is to increase public awareness of the plight of the sea turtle. Since September, 1995, we have been providing educational activities. Students from several schools within the area were invited into our work zone, where they learned about our general activities and could view videos on the methods used for protecting other nesting areas. Likewise, combining this educational program and the hatching of some of our nests, organized groups of children, such as local Boy Scouts, were invited to participate in our "adoption" program. After receiving an explanation about sea turtles and their danger of extinction, they "adopted" the recently hatched turtles, giving them a name and releasing them into the sea. We invite families & school groups to participate. Contact sandy@dmirisch.com

ASUPMATOMA is also implementing a "sign sponsoring opportunity". Signs will be placed at strategic points along coastal access points, informing the public that driving on the beaches is prohibited and that it endangers sea turtle nests and hatchlings. The signs will also remind us that beaches belong to everyone and should be kept beautiful. Sponsor names, the names of their businesses or their logos will be placed on the signs to publicize their support for the environment and the endangered marine turtle.

ASUPMATOMA would like to thank the following sponsors.

About the Turtles Homepage Funding and Donations Our Sponsors