#198 | Saving the Yucatán’s Endangered Sea Turtles with Melania López-Castro, PhD

Join Brooke for a conversation with marine biologist Melania López-Castro as she shares her journey protecting endangered sea turtles in Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. From tracking mysterious hatchling movements to implementing innovative conservation strategies, Melania discusses her work with Pronatura Peninsula de Yucatan to save critically endangered hawksbill and green sea turtles. Learn how local communities, scientists, and tourism operators are working together to protect these ancient mariners, and discover how you can support sea turtle conservation in one of their most important nesting grounds worldwide.

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Recording gear provided by Mojave and Focusrite.

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Timestamps

00:00 Introduction to the Yucatan Peninsula and Sea Turtle Conservation

00:54 Meet Melania Lopez Castro: From Academia to Conservation

05:20 The Journey of Sea Turtles: From Birth to Maturity

10:35 Challenges and Innovations in Sea Turtle Conservation

12:43 The Role of Pronatura in Sea Turtle Conservation

22:48 Tourism and Conservation: Balancing Act in the Yucatan

29:45 Switching from Fishing to Tourism

30:46 Collaborations for Conservation

31:57 Threats from Feral Dogs and Raccoons

37:00 Challenges of Coastal Development

38:40 Environmental Policy in Mexico

45:09 Efforts in Sea Turtle Conservation

51:25 How You Can Help

56:14 Connecting with Nature