IDG Contributor Network: How IoT trackers can fight poachers
Sea turtles have been survived for millions of years, but now face extinction. as poachers. How do you protect sea turtles eggs on remote, miles-long beaches in developing countries from poachers working in the dark?
Global System for Mobile Communications, or GSM, enabled IoT trackers may provide an answer to this scourge.
Background
Poachers kill sea turtles for their shells and their eggs are considered a delicacy and aphrodisiac. Sad but true. The trade of sea turtle products is restricted, but that doesn’t stop poachers. Tracking this illegal trafficking is difficult. The transit routes and final destinations are unknown.
Sea turtle products are the second most frequently trafficked wildlife product smuggled from Latin America to the US. Eggs are a quarter of illegal imports and most originate in Mexico or Central America. This trade is devastating to turtle populations. A recent shipment of a thousand turtle eggs that was intercepted at the Mexico/U.S. border represented nearly 5 percent of the year’s total egg production for the beach from which they were poached!