0Date: 5 September 2023
Author: Dr. Alan Zavala Norzagaray. 
Nomination made by: Instituto Politécnico Nacional, CIIDIR-IPN UNIDAD SINALOA

Abelino Angulo Angulo, from the community of La Reforma, Angostura, in the state of Sinaloa, in Mexico, has been an active collaborator in research, monitoring, and environmental education projects coordinated by the Wildlife Protection and Conservation Program of CIIDIR-IPN in Sinaloa. 

The work of our leatherback hero extends to collaborations with projects monitoring the nesting of olive ridley turtles with CONANP (National Commission of Natural Protected Areas) at Altamura Island in Sinaloa.

Abelino is also an active participant in CONANP’s Advisory Committee del APFF “Gulf of California Islands”, and in collaborative networks for sea turtle conservation such as Grupo Tortuguero de las Californias and the Sinaloa Turtle Network. 

Foto: Alan Zavala 

Abelino Angulo protecting a nest during sea turtle monitoring and conservation activities..

Presently, Abelino is the Director of Ecology of the Angostura Municipality, and reports leatherback sightings and bycatch events. His work is contributing to the identification of marine areas with high interactions between the species and fishing activity.

Two enormous achievements of Leatherback Hero Abelino were rescues of leatherbacks from fishing gear in 2023. Thanks to his efforts, two leatherbacks were successfully rescued, and named “Enrique” and “Altamura”. In these marathon efforts, Abelino collaborated with different local organizations with experience in sea turtle rehabilitation. Through this collaboration, in addition to restoring these turtles to health before their release, they were also equipped with satellite transmitters that provide important information about the at-sea behavior of leatherbacks in this region.