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FERNANDO MANZANO (1949 - 2021)
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Fernando Manzano was born in Tecolutla, Veracruz, Mexico. He lived there all his life, working tirelessly at his purpose; to protect sea turtles. Even as a child, he felt a strong connection to them and began to study them on his own. Books and documentaries by Jacques Cousteau were his early influences.
While he was still a youth, Fernando recognized that sea turtles were endangered. He took it upon himself to help them. It wasn’t easy to go against the traditions of his community. Some men were accustomed to providing for their families through the sale of turtle eggs, meat and shells. Fernando realized that he needed to get those men on his side. To turn poachers into protectors, he spent time educating them and compensated them for their loss of income.
With no financial help from the government, but with unswerving determination, he pressed on. Little by little, he began to educate others about the importance of preserving this endangered species. Eventually he formed the organization, Vida Milenaria AC. Thanks to the hard work of Fernando and his team, sea turtle nest protection has increased from just one nest that first year, to over 800 nests in recent years. In his lifetime they've saved millions of hatchlings!
Fernando‘s passion touched thousands of people each year, inspiring both young and old to care about sea turtles and the environment. He made a tremendous impact on his community, where he earned the title Papa Tortuga (Father Turtle).
KEMP’S RIDLEY SEA TURTLES
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Most of the turtles protected in Tecolutla are the critically endangered Kemp’s ridleys. They are the smallest species of sea turtle, with adults weighing between 75 and 100 pounds. Unlike other sea turtles, Kemp’s ridleys nest and hatch during the day.
At one time, Kemp’s ridleys were so abundant that they arrived on nesting beaches in huge arribadas (“arrivals”). One extraordinary arribada was documented on film in 1947, showing an estimated 40,000 Kemp’s ridleys nesting on a single day. Human collection of eggs and turtles were the primary reason for their drastic decline. By the 1980’s experts estimated that just 200 nesting Kemp’s ridleys were left on Earth.
When Fernando was a child, there were no laws against sea turtle hunting. In 1977 a bi-national conservation program was begun to protect them. Little by little, laws and behavior changed. Present threats to their survival include: pollution, bycatch in fishing gear and illegal poaching of eggs. Although their numbers have been increasing, they still need our help, for there’s a long road left to recovery.