Date: 16 June 2023
Author: ProDelphinus 
Nomination made by: Organización ProDelphinus. 

Francisco Bernero Ramos, from Peru, was an artisanal fisherman for many years from the port of Ilo. 

Better known as “Chaval”, Mr Francisco Bernero has been participating in sea turtle conservation projects and efforts since 2008. The work that he has done and continues to do has been as an onboard observer, reporting incidental capture and safe release of sea turtles and other species, not just in the south of Peru but also the north. 

For Francisco, when it comes to sea turtles, there are no borders. He has been able to work as an observer in coastal areas, reporting sea turtle strandings, including one of a leatherback that 

he reported to ProDelphinus on 29 April 2023.

Additionally, Francisco has been developing and strengthening his own capacity through trainings on best handling and release practices, biological sampling, and tagging of sea turtles.

Photo: A training workshop showing the proper use of a dehooker to remove a fishing hook from sea turtles. Foto: ProDelphinus.

One very valuable event that Francisco participated in was an exchange of experiences between Peruvian fishermen and communities that protect nesting leatherbacks and their nests on beaches in Mexico. On that trip, he had the opportunity to learn about the importance of nesting beach protection and the enormous effort these actions require. Also, he learned more about tagging nesting turtles and collecting nesting data.

Francisco taking a length measurement on a nesting leatherback during his visit to beaches in Mexico.
Foto: ProDelphinus.