People helping turtles, turtles helping people: Understanding resident attitudes towards sea turtle conservation and opportunities for enhanced community participation in Bahia Magdalena, Mexico Jesse Senko a, * , Andrew J. Schneller b , Julio Solis b, c , Francisco Ollervides b, d , Wallace J. Nichols e a Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA b The School for Field Studies, Center for Coastal Studies, Ap. Postal 15, Puerto San Carlos, BCS 23740, Mexico c Vigilantes de Bahia Magdalena A.C., Ap. Postal 15, Puerto San Carlos, BCS 23740, Mexico d Waterkeeper Alliance, Irvington, NY 10533, USA e Ocean Revolution and California Academy of Sciences, Davenport, CA 95017, USA article info Article history: Available online 10 November 2010 abstract In Pacific Mexico, all five sea turtle species have declined over the past century due to intense over- exploitation of meat and eggs, fisheries bycatch, and degradation of marine and nesting habitats. One of the most heavily impacted areas has been the Baja California peninsula, where sea turtle populations remain historically low despite existing conservation measures that include a complete moratorium on the use of sea turtles, over three decades of widespread protection of nesting beaches, and in-water monitoring of sea turtles at coastal foraging areas. We recognize the need for alternative sea turtle conservation strategies that rely on increased participation of civil society and Mexican citizens. The purpose of this paper was to identify resident attitudes towards sea turtle conservation and opportu- nities for enhanced community participation in Bahia Magdalena, a region in Baja California Sur, Mexico experiencing high levels of sea turtle poaching and bycatch in fisheries. Through semi-structured interviews we found that while residents were overwhelmingly interested in participating in sea turtle conservation, peer pressure and conflict within the community presented major challenges. The majority of residents indicated that sea turtle voluntourism would have a positive impact on their community. Economic incentives and increased protection for sea turtles were mentioned as benefits of sea turtle voluntourism, whereas peer pressure, difficulty obtaining permits and producing effective marketing materials, and doubt about direct economic benefits were cited as constraints. We discuss our results in terms of opportunities, challenges, and recommendations for improving community-focused sea turtle conservation throughout the region. Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Many large marine vertebrates (e.g. marine mammals, sharks, seabirds, and sea turtles) are vulnerable to overexploitation due to their life history characteristics, such as long lifespans, late matu- rity, slow reproductive rates, and extended migrations (Baum et al., 2003; Fujiwara and Caswell, 2001; Lewison et al., 2004a, 2004b). Like most large vertebrates, when abundant, sea turtles play key ecological roles in their marine environment as consumers, prey and competitors, hosts for parasites and pathogens, substrates for epibionts, seascape and marine substrate engineers, and nutrient transporters (Bjorndal, 2003; Bjorndal and Bolten, 2003; Bjorndal and Jackson, 2003). In Pacific Mexico, sea turtles have become commercially, ecologically, and culturally extinct from many regions of former abundance and socioeconomic and cultural importance (Delgado and Nichols, 2005). Populations started to decline sharply in the 1950s due to intense commercial fisheries and egg harvesting (Garcia-Martinez and Nichols, 2000). Between 1962 and 1967 sea turtle catch in Mexico increased 633% and the country was producing the most sea turtle products in the world (O’Donnell, 1974; Koch et al., 2006). Populations began to crash in the 1970s when sea turtles were unable to reproduce fast enough in the face of increasing regional and global demand (Clifton et al., 1979). Consequently, the Mexican government implemented a recovery program in 1978 and closed all nesting beaches to the harvest of sea turtle eggs. In 1980, the government issued a quota * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ1 203 3941119. E-mail address: jesse.senko@gmail.com (J. Senko). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Ocean & Coastal Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ocecoaman 0964-5691/$ e see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2010.10.030 Ocean & Coastal Management 54 (2011) 148e157