Updated take estimates of marine turtles in the Guajira Peninsula, Venezuela
Carrasquero-Labarca, Royner, Ware, Matthew, Palmar, Jordano, Rojas-Cañizales, Daniela, and Barrios-Garrido, Hector (2025) Updated take estimates of marine turtles in the Guajira Peninsula, Venezuela. Marine & Fishery Sciences, 38 (4). pp. 561-573.
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Abstract
The Guajira Peninsula is one of the most important foraging grounds areas for marine turtles in Venezuela. There, five species converging: the green turtle, hawksbill, loggerhead, leatherback, and olive ridley. The Wayuú indigenous people are inhabits of the Guajira Peninsula. They have a close relationship with these animals, and for generations, they have used these species as subsistence resources. Marine turtle take has always occurred in this area and has historically been high; it is still happening now, but the current extent is unknown. For that reason, we aimed to assess and update the estimate for marine turtles take in the Guajira Peninsula. We conducted 25 field surveys between February and March 2022 by visiting 15 locations to seek for alive turtles and remains on landing sites. We recorded the species, date, location of each encounter, and curve carapace length (CCL) measurements. Additionally, 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted with members of the Wayuú community. During field surveys, an estimated 81 marine turtles were identified. The most affected species were green turtles (91.3%, n = 74), followed by hawksbills (3.7%, n = 3), loggerheads (3.7%, n = 3), and leatherbacks (1.2%, n = 1). The majority of green turtles were subadults, with an average CCL size of 64.7 ± 16.5 cm (82.2%, n = 52). Interviewees mentioned that marine turtles were caught for cultural practices, consumption, ancient medicine, and commerce. Further monitoring activities are needed to understand the take level and its implications for marine turtle populations in the Caribbean Basin.
| Item ID: | 89976 |
|---|---|
| Item Type: | Article (Research - C1) |
| ISSN: | 2683-7951 |
| Keywords: | aquatic bushmeat, Artisanal fishery, green turtle, Gulf of Venezuela, Illegal Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) |
| Copyright Information: | Copyright © 2025 Royner Carrasquero-Labarca, Matthew Ware, Jordano Palmar, Daniela Rojas-Cañizales, Héctor Barrios-Garrido. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. |
| Date Deposited: | 04 Aug 2026 02:59 |
| FoR Codes: | 31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3103 Ecology > 310305 Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) @ 100% |
| SEO Codes: | 18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1805 Marine systems and management > 180504 Marine biodiversity @ 100% |
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