Playa Cerritos · Mazatlán, Sinaloa · México
Cerritos Turtles is a community guide to sharing the shoreline with sea turtles, seabirds and everything the tide brings in. Learn what to do, what to leave alone, and how to write down what you saw.
01 Know the shoreline
Cerritos is a shared beach: residents, visitors, fishers and wildlife all use it. A few general facts help everyone act well. They are background, not a report of what is on the sand today.
Sea turtles use Mexico's Pacific coast, including beaches around Mazatlán. Olive ridley turtles (tortuga golfina) have been studied nesting on Cerritos and nearby beaches. Leave animals, tracks and nests undisturbed; nesting dates vary.
In Mexico, sea turtles, their eggs and their nests are protected by law. Collecting, disturbing or harming them can be an offence. Watching quietly from a distance is always the right choice.
Hatchlings find the sea by heading toward the brightest, lowest horizon, so lights, flashes and torches can send them the wrong way. Holes, sandcastles, chairs and vehicles can trap them. At night, keep lights off, keep your distance and keep dogs away.
A wide, tractor-like track from the surf line up the beach can mean a turtle came ashore. Marked or roped-off areas may be looked after by others. Don't follow tracks, dig, or place your own markers. Note what you saw from a distance and leave the exact spot out of your notes.
No current nest counts, sightings or beach conditions are published on this site.
Look closely. Write it down. Leave the rest to the tide.
General guidance only. Nothing here reports what is on the sand today.
02 Share the shoreline
Close encounters feel special, but wild animals are easily stressed and some can be dangerous. These rules apply to turtles, marine mammals, birds, crocodiles and anything else you meet.
Stay well back and keep still and quiet. No lights, no flash, no touching. Let her finish and return to the sea. This is normal behaviour, not an emergency.
Keep everyone and every dog back, and keep lights off. Don't pick them up or carry them to the water. If they are in immediate danger from crowds, vehicles or bright lights, contact local authorities.
Keep back and keep people and pets away. Don't push it into the water or try to treat it. Contact local authorities or beach staff, and note what you see.
Stay far away and never feed or provoke it. Warn others nearby, keep children and dogs back, and tell local authorities if it is close to people.
Don't touch it, and keep dogs away. Note what you see and roughly where, and tell local authorities if it looks unusual or you find several.
Act first, write later. Urgent situations belong with local authorities, not with this website.
Call 911, Mexico's national emergency number, or ask someone nearby to help.
For an injured, stranded or entangled animal, disturbed eggs or nests, or illegal activity involving wildlife, contact local authorities. PROFEPA is Mexico's federal environmental enforcement agency; its official page lists current ways to reach it.
Use the draft composer below to write clear notes. It makes a useful record, but it is not a way to get help.
This website cannot send anyone to help and does not list a rescue number. Don't wait for a reply from this site or from an email before seeking help.
03 Write it down
Answer a few questions and get a clear text draft, in English, Spanish or both. Copy it, download it, or open it in your email app addressed to luke@1730.ca.
Before you start. This page writes the draft on your device. It uploads nothing, and there is no public report database or map yet. Nothing is sent until you press send in your own email app, and even then a reply or action can't be promised. If something is urgent, see “When it can't wait” above.
Not sent. Nothing has been submitted or shared. This text exists only on this page until you copy it, download it or send it yourself by email.
You changed the form. Generate the draft again to update it.
The email button opens your own email app, addressed to luke@1730.ca. You decide whether to send. If nothing opens, copy the draft and paste it into a new email.
04 Leave it better
A tidy beach helps wildlife when cleanups are done carefully. Go in daylight, pick up only litter, and leave the natural beach as you found it.
Before
During
After
Leave these alone: needles and syringes, chemical containers, gas cylinders, flares, anything unidentified, dead animals, and any live animal tangled in debris. Keep others away, note what you see, and tell local authorities.
05 Find the beach
These are ordinary external map searches for Playa Cerritos in Mazatlán, opened in a new tab. This site does not plot sightings, nests, hazards or live conditions, and it will not publish exact nest locations.
Opening a map link shares your visit with that provider, under its own privacy policy.
06 Mission
Cerritos Turtles began with a focus on sea turtles and has grown into a wider idea of beach health: clean sand, safe water, undisturbed wildlife, and neighbours who know what to do.
It is for residents, long-term visitors, newcomers and travellers alike. You don't need to be an expert. Looking carefully, keeping your distance and writing down what you saw is already a real contribution.
The best wildlife encounter leaves the animal unaware you were there.
Nest locations and personal details stay private.
No invented numbers, live conditions or rescue promises.
English and Spanish, treated equally.
This relaunch is a guide and a drafting tool. There is no public database of sightings, no accounts, no photo uploads, no map of reports, no hotline, and no shop or donations. If that changes, this page will say so.
07 Questions
No. This website cannot dispatch anyone and does not list a rescue number. If a person is in danger, call 911. For urgent wildlife or environmental problems, contact local authorities.
Nowhere, unless you send it. The draft is built in your browser. You can copy it, download it, or open it in your email app addressed to luke@1730.ca, and then it is up to you whether to press send.
Precise locations can attract egg poachers, predators and crowds, all of which put nests at risk. Describe the area in general terms and don't post coordinates or map pins. This composer also asks you to leave GPS coordinates and map links out.
Stay back, keep lights off, keep dogs and people away, and don't touch anything. A turtle nesting at night is normal. If animals are in immediate danger or someone is disturbing them, contact local authorities. Afterwards you can write notes with the composer, leaving the exact spot out.
Not on this site. If you choose to email, you can attach files yourself. Remove location data from photos of turtles first, and only photograph from a safe distance.
Please don't. Handling a wild animal can hurt it and you. Keep back, keep people and pets away, and contact local authorities or beach staff.
No. Nothing on this site reflects live conditions, current sightings or nest counts. It is general guidance and a drafting tool.
This site runs no analytics, ads or third-party scripts, and doesn't set cookies itself. It remembers only your language choice, in your own browser.
There is no donation or shop on this site and no volunteer sign-up at the moment. If you would like to offer help or ideas, you can email luke@1730.ca, though a reply can't be promised.
No. This is a community site, not a government service, and it doesn't speak for any agency.
08 Get in touch
Email is the only contact route right now. It suits questions, corrections, local knowledge and offers of help.
Not for emergencies. This inbox isn't monitored as an emergency channel, and replies can't be guaranteed or may be slow.
PROFEPA — official page on gob.mx (opens in a new tab)
PROFEPA is Mexico's federal environmental enforcement agency. Check its official page for current ways to make a complaint. This site is not affiliated with it.