Roni Nelson Batista Ramos once ate loggerhead turtle meat without a second thought—today, he walks 31 kilometers of shifting sands each week to protect the very creatures he once hunted. On the windswept eastern shores of Boa Vista in Cabo Verde, a quiet revolution is unfolding: former poachers have become the frontline guardians of one of the world’s most vital sea turtle nesting populations. This transformation, rooted in both law and livelihood, is breathing new life into the nesting sands of an island where illegal turtle hunting once ran rampant.
For generations, turtle meat was part of local tradition in Cabo Verde, creating a deep cultural divide with conservation efforts. But in 2018, a landmark law criminalized the killing of threatened sea turtle species, catalyzing a shift that went beyond enforcement—it created opportunity. Organizations like the Turtle Foundation began hiring local community members, including those with histories of poaching, as rangers. Now, around a dozen of these former hunters patrol key nesting beaches from June to October, monitoring turtles on foot, with drones, and even with the help of trained dogs.
The results have been nothing short of extraordinary. On Boa Vista, which hosts roughly two-thirds of all loggerhead nesting in Cabo Verde, the number of illegally caught female turtles plummeted from 1,253 in 2007 to just 20 in 2024. In that same span, the number of loggerhead nests has surged more than sevenfold—proof that protection works when communities are part of the solution. Cabo Verde is now home to the largest loggerhead turtle population in the east Atlantic Ocean and the third largest globally, trailing only Oman and southeast Florida.
Yet the threats persist. While poaching has dramatically declined, fishing bycatch remains a critical danger. In 2024, the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement renewed access for 56 industrial vessels from Spain, Portugal, and France to fish in Cabo Verdean waters—raising concerns about accidental turtle entanglement. Conservationists are pushing for stronger bycatch mitigation measures, even as they celebrate the progress on land.
Beyond loggerheads, the archipelago’s waters host four other sea turtle species: green, leatherback, Olive Ridley, and the critically endangered hawksbill. Their survival hinges on sustained vigilance and inclusive conservation. For Ramos, the change is personal. "I had turtle meat for personal consumption and never realized I could make a living out of conserving them," he said. "But now, I guard them against the poachers, and it’s motivating to see how these efforts have driven positive impacts for their conservation."
As nesting season returns each year, so do the rangers—walking the same beaches where they once hunted, now writing a new chapter in the story of coexistence.