Turtle egg poachers tracked with GPS enabled eggs

[williamcll]

Sea turtles has been an endangered species for decades, various attempts to tackle illegal poaching has given limited effectiveness. Researchers have devised a new method to track down poachers in order to put an end to this threat once and for all.

Quote

By placing 3D-printed and GPS-enabled decoy sea turtle eggs into nests on the beach, it's possible to gather key evidence needed to expose rampant illegal trade of the eggs, suggests a new study. The researchers specifically tested how well the decoy eggs work and their safety for the endangered turtles. The egg decoys, dubbed InvestEggator, were developed by the conservation organization Paso Pacifico to address the illegal trade of endangered sea turtles in Central America, where the eggs are smuggled from beaches and sold to restaurants and bars as a delicacy. Paso Pacifico-affiliated scientist Kim Williams-Guillen conceived and designed the decoys in response to a call for proposals from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge. They were looking for projects using technological advances to fight wildlife poaching.

 

One of the decoys made it close to a residential property before going silent. Another went two kilometers to a bar. The one that went farthest ended up 137 kilometers inland, spending two days in transit from the beach to a supermarket loading-bay and then on to a residential property. The researchers assume the egg wasn't sold at the market but was rather handed off there, from a trafficker to a salesperson. They also got some anecdotal reports of cases where someone discovered the decoy. "One decoy went off-line in a residential area near Cariari, a town 43 km from the deployment beach," they wrote. "After 11 days, we received photographs, sent from Cariari, of the dissected egg."

Source: https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/27590/20201005/researchers-use-gps-enabled-decoy-eggs-catch-turtle-egg-traffickers.htm

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201005112129.htm

Thoughts: This is certainly a cunning idea, but at the same time I am worried about the safety of the researches who might be targeted by criminal elements from this point on.

[WereCatf]

1 hour ago, williamcll said:

illegal poaching

Some people sure are selfish shits.

[cj09beira]

then they go and make this article so that, this tracking method wont work anymore  

[StDragon]

Some quotes from a link in the article: 

 

"It is estimated that within one month there were about 100,000 turtle eggs traded on the entire island. Several big cities in Kalimantan like Pontianak, Banjarmasin, and Samarinda become the hubs of the trade. Samarinda, East Kalimantan, is recorded as the city that has a the most turtle egg traders.

 

Prices of turtle eggs sold in Kalimantan vary, ranging from 1,500 IDR (or 0.15 USD; 1 USD = 10,000 IDR) to 8,000 IDR (0.8 USD) per item. The average price is 3,500 IDR (0.35 USD) each. ProFauna estimates that the trade value could reach 4.2 billions IDR (420,000 USD) per year."

 

 Why? Arechicken eggs not good enough? And how come I never saw Julia Child cook an omelette with  turtle eggs?  

[NumLock21]

That’s a neat idea 

[Bombastinator]

3 hours ago, cj09beira said:

then they go and make this article so that, this tracking method wont work anymore  

Still might.  They’re going to have to be really careful.  The eggs are going to have to weigh and feel and act the same in the hand.  The prototype design certainly won’t work any more.   What it does get is the consumers though.  If a bar lets even one tracker egg through it will get shut down.  Might be even worse for a private buyer.  The data had apparently already been distributed amongst poachers (note photographs sent to the creators) so the amount of damage that could be done is limited. 

[Kisai]

10 hours ago, Bombastinator said:

Still might.  They’re going to have to be really careful.  The eggs are going to have to weigh and feel and act the same in the hand.  The prototype design certainly won’t work any more.   What it does get is the consumers though.  If a bar lets even one tracker egg through it will get shut down.  Might be even worse for a private buyer.  The data had apparently already been distributed amongst poachers (note photographs sent to the creators) so the amount of damage that could be done is limited. 

This kinda shows how much of this is greed driven. The poachers aren't coming out there with metal detectors. It's people going "if I steal eggs, I get money"

 

It'll probably stop a few for now, but the next generation of poacher trackers will likely be more disposable. What should happen is that anyone found with turtle eggs are massive fines, and if they happen to have "interfered with a migration tracker" they get fined for disturbing the turtle nests as well.

 

However these countries, small fines and jailtime threats are not deterrents, just like in the US and Canada, it doesn't stop people from poaching anything. Far be it to advocate for punitive actions, but I'd like to see everyone, from the person who stole the eggs, to the people who bought them being thrown in jail for a month for every egg they are found with. On average in Canada an animal is poached every day. Now imagine how bad the problem is in countries with no political will to protect wildlife.

 

 

 

[Bombastinator]

9 minutes ago, Kisai said:

This kinda shows how much of this is greed driven. The poachers aren't coming out there with metal detectors. It's people going "if I steal eggs, I get money"

 

It'll probably stop a few for now, but the next generation of poacher trackers will likely be more disposable. What should happen is that anyone found with turtle eggs are massive fines, and if they happen to have "interfered with a migration tracker" they get fined for disturbing the turtle nests as well.

 

However these countries, small fines and jailtime threats are not deterrents, just like in the US and Canada, it doesn't stop people from poaching anything. Far be it to advocate for punitive actions, but I'd like to see everyone, from the person who stole the eggs, to the people who bought them being thrown in jail for a month for every egg they are found with. On average in Canada an animal is poached every day. Now imagine how bad the problem is in countries with no political will to protect wildlife.

 

 

 

A deterrent has to be a deterrent.  Shutting down a bar for example?  That’s a deterrent to the bar owner.  Deterrent has to be big enough that police action is only part of the enforcement.  You need people unwilling to buy and unwilling to sell.  Not only that unwilling to allow others to do so on their premises.  Confiscating any vehicle or property involved might be interesting.

[Trik'Stari]

Would it not be more expedient and practical to simply staff these beaches with armed guards?

[Bombastinator]

4 minutes ago, Trik'Stari said:

Would it not be more expedient and practical to simply staff these beaches with armed guards?

I believe they already do that where possible.  Guards are expensive though.

[Trik'Stari]

Just now, Bombastinator said:

I believe they already do that where possible.  Guards are expensive though.

Automated gun turrets then?

 

Seriously. Just poach the poachers lol.

[Bombastinator]

Just now, Trik'Stari said:

Automated gun turrets then?

 

Seriously. Just poach the poachers lol.

There was a situation with a particular type of small cave dwelling bird who’s nests were a delicacy where caves were protected with all kinds of things including land mines. Still didn’t save the birds in a lot of cases.  They may be extinct. I do not know.
 

I have seen pics of razor wire topped fences for turtle nesting grounds.  I suspect the whole thing is problematic because turtles don’t fly, are large, and approach sandy beaches from the sea.  There is also the issue of limited funding for protection.