This refuge was declared to protect a major nesting beach for Olive Ridley Sea Turtles, as well as the waters offshore from the beach. Several times a year, female turtles come ashore in such numbers that the sandy beach begins to resemble a stretch of rocky coastline. These mass nesting episodes are locally referred to as “arribadas”. One of these events can last from two to eight days with most nesting taking place at night. What triggers the mass nesting is still a mystery.

Scientists suggest that this species produces a superabundance of nests as a strategy for survival against predators, since with so many eggs laid in just a few nights (a million or more during a large “arribada”) it is unlikely that the local natural predators could possibly consume them all. Likewise, when the surviving eggs hatch and the young turtles make their scramble down the beach to the ocean, if thousands of them are doing this at more or less the same time, then some percentage of them ought to escape the variety of hungry predators that range from crabs to coyotes.

The creation of the Ostional National Wildlife Refuge is a wonderful example of the “if you can't beat 'em, join 'em” philosophy in conservation. For many years, the wholesale ransacking of turtle nests for eggs was a seasonal activity indulged in by people from all over the region, and from even as far away as San José. The widespread belief that consumption of turtle eggs produces aphrodisiacal effects has led to their popular demand as “bocas” (snacks served as appetizers in local cantinas).

Held back by insufficient funding to adequately patrol the beach at Ostional, while at the same time needing the support of the local villagers, the wildlife authorities proposed a new scheme with the declaration of the refuge. The proposal was that Ostional residents (only Ostional residents), would be granted permission to harvest a limited number of eggs during the first two nights of each nesting period and sell them only to bars with licenses to serve turtle eggs. The idea was to get the local populace to function as a police force to safeguard their own interests and protect the later nests at the same time since these have a better chance of success (early nests are often inadvertently excavated by turtles arriving later on during an “arribada”). This novel policy has generated much debate, but it seems to be working effectively.

The refuge can be reached from Nosara following a series of gravel and dirt roads to the coast and continuing south or north, respectively, until arriving at Ostional.

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