More than 92,000 olive ridley turtles have arrived on beaches of Oaxaca in recent days.

The Mexican Turtle Center, which operates under the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (Conamp), confirmed the arrival of the turtles at La Escobilla beach located in the municipality of Santa María Tonameca, between Puerto Escondido and Huatulco.

The massive arrival of the female turtle marks the official start of the nesting season for the olive ridley sea turtle in the Mexican Pacific.

Marine turtle experts expect that the one and a half million arrivals reported last year will be exceeded.

The arrivals, or arribadas in Spanish, bring thousands of turtles on the beach to lay their eggs in sand nests. During this period, millions of eggs are deposited, which federal and state authorities and civil society will protect daily from the looting for sale on the black market.

The arrivals are long awaited by residents, environmentalists and tourism service providers. La Escobilla beach has come to be considered a sanctuary, as it is one of the few places in the world that attracts thousands of nesting female turtles.

The number of turtles coming out to nest this year is expected to be higher than in the 2020-2021 season.

With reports from RIOaxaca