Herpetological Conservation and Biology 12(2):477–487. Submitted: 29 October 2015; Accepted: 23 May 2017; Published: 31 August 2017. Characterization of a Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) Foraging Aggregation along the Pacific Coast of Southern Mexico Samantha G. Karam-Martínez1,3, Isabel Raymundo-González1,2, J. Alberto Montoya-Márquez1, Francisco Villegas-Zurita1, and Francisco Becerril-Bobadilla1 1Universidad del Mar, Campus Puerto Ángel, Ciudad Universitaria, Puerto Ángel, Oaxaca, México 2Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Facultad de Ciencias, km 103 Carretera Tijuana-Ensenada, Ensenada, Baja California, México 3Corresponding author, e-mail:
[email protected] Abstract.—The primary foraging areas of Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) in the Mexican Pacific are located near the Baja California Peninsula, although foraging areas also have been documented along the southern coast of the country. The goal of this study was to determine demographic characteristics, catch per unit of effort (CPUE), condition index (CI), and food preferences of Green Turtles in Chacahua Lagoon, Oaxaca, Mexico. This is the first study of its kind involving a foraging aggregation along the Pacific Coast of southern Mexico. Between June 2009 and May 2010, we captured 16 Green Turtles with entanglement nets and had 25 total captures. Individuals that we captured more than once spent up to six months in the lagoon. Based on size, we classified 14 turtles as adults and two as juveniles. We could not determine the sex of all turtles. The mean monthly CPUE was 0.095 turtles/100 m net/12 h, which was one to two orders of magnitude lower than those reported for Baja California foraging areas.