The East Pacific green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas agassizzi) nests at Naranjo beach, Santa Rosa National Park. This beach is located in the Pacific northwest of Costa Rica and is considered by some as the most important rookery for the species in the region. Given its protection status and its geographic isolation nesting of this species have been fully protected from anthropogenic activities such as egg poaching and infrastructure development. Following National Park guidelines, protection of this species has conformed to passive management, where ecological processes are allowed to occur naturally. However, there is no scientific information supporting this passive management as the best option to ensure the conservation and recovery of the species. Current incomplete information of this population suggests a decreasing trend in the number of nesting individuals.

As such, this project intends to fill the void of information regarding the current population status of this species, which should serve to implement effective management measures aimed at its protection and conservation. Accordingly, the main objective of this project is to initiate a long-term project focused on the monitoring of the nesting population at Naranjo beach. This will be accomplished by implementing a tagging program of nesting females and nest protection, as well as studies of the nesting ecology and assessment of embryo development and hatching rates.

In addition, we will establish an education program for tourists, Park officers and volunteers, emphasizing the biology and conservation of sea turtles. As a whole this work is expected to play a significant role in the recovery of the East Pacific green sea turtle in the region.