Last year, a man was caught poaching sea turtle eggs along Juno Beach, presumably to sell them (about $3-$5 per egg) on the black market for others' consumption. He recently pleaded guilty to the crime, WPTV.com reported.
Kenneth Cornelius Coleman, a 52 year-old from Riviera Beach, began looting the nests of endangered and threatened sea turtle species in July of 2013 -- at least that was when local police first began discovering the evidence. Eventually, they found a bag on the scene and matched it to Coleman's DNA, which they had on file from previous crimes. He'd also been caught stealing eggs in 2005 and 2010, serving time for the latter arrest, according to the Palm Beach Post.
For his latest crime, he faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Sea turtle eggs are an international delicacy believed by some cultures to be an aphrodisiac, which isn't true and only serves to propagate their consumption. A March 2013 article from Fauna & Flora International, however, pointed out sex is just a small part of their allure in Nicaragua, where many have an affection for the product. After surveying over 1,000 locals, researchers at Fauna & Flora determined the most common reason (36 percent) for consuming sea turtle eggs was taste. Only 7 percent of responders said they ate it for its rumored aphrodisiac properties.
Recent events aside, researchers at Fauna & Flora took the results as a sign that their education programs were working. Perhaps some responders lied about their true intentions, but as long as most were telling the truth, one reason for eating sea turtles is slowly fading away.
