A chain of emails is circulating on the Internet with false information regarding the Conservation and Use of Ridley Sea Turtle Eggs Project (Lepidochels olivacea), in Ostional National Wildlife Refuge in Guanacaste.

The message includes photos of the legal gathering of eggs with a text describing the action as a “theft” and an “international shame.”

The Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT) seeks to clarify that the images actually represent a model of sustainable development in the Ostional community. The Ostional National Wildlife Refuge witnesses up to 200,000 Olive Ridley turtles during the rainy season and about 15,000 in the dry season. Upon their arrival, the sea turtles lay thousands of eggs and destroy a large portion of them as they return to the ocean.

That’s why, under the sustainability development concept, the nearby rural areas are legally allowed to remove a specific amount of eggs for commercial purposes, under the supervision of the Ostional Internal Development Association (ADIO in Spanish).