All seven species are now endangered, threatened or vulnerable. Only one in 1,000 turtle hatchlings survives to reproduce. One of the greatest threats to sea turtle survival is beachfront development, which is converting quiet, isolated turtle nesting beaches into tourist and industrial zones. Now Mexico s three most important nesting beaches for loggerhead and green sea turtles are slated for tourist development. In spite of federal laws, the state government of Quintana Roo sold the beaches to hotel developers.
Construction is advanced at two of the three sites.
Turtles that nest at X cacel carry more than 20 percent of the genetic diversity of their species in the Atlantic. To avoid a public outcry, the governor has prohibited construction at X cacel within 100 meters of the sea. Research shows that bright lights and human activity on the beach discourage nesting females. Whole nests of up to 200 eggs can be destroyed by fungus if just one egg is pierced by a beach umbrella. In addition to the endangered sea turtles, X cacel is home to more than 30 other protected species, including boa constrictors, marsh crocodiles, manatees, margays, jaguarundis and mangroves.