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During initial monitoring carried out by ICAPO in 2009, a possible nesting site was identified on
the peninsula of Punta de Mita, Nayarit, in central Pacific Mexico. The site lies on the northern border of the Bahia de Banderas.
Records of hawksbill nesting had been gathered by a local Home Owners Association and their beach security teams over the
past few years.
A project was launched in 2010 to confirm hawksbill nesting and protect nests from poaching and natural predators.
With the support of local tourism developments, which own the land and allow access to nesting beaches, ICAPO began to monitor
activity year round. This has been done through close collaborations with the security guards based on each beach and the
implementation of a local hawksbill network. The white sand beaches
of Punta de Mita are scattered with broken corral fragments and locally dominant stones from the area. Much of the natural
dune vegetation has been lost to development, however trees, low lying brush and small mangrove stands shade several beaches.
Hawksbill nests are taken to a naturally shaded hatchery and protected during incubation.
ICAPO has also formed a partnership with the local university Instituto Tecnologico de Bahia de Banderas.
This partnership has lead to in-water surveys for hawksbills around the peninsula using two methodologies 1) underwater transects
(undertaken by experienced divers) and 2) sea turtle entanglement nets. The collaboration has also lead to an ongoing undergraduate
thesis looking at characterizing the habitat around the peninsula.
Implementing Organizations
Los Grupos Ecologistas de Nayarit, AC
Instituto Tecnologico de Bahia de Banderas
Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative (ICAPO)
US Fish and Wildlife Service
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