Attention, sea turtle nest!

Medio Natural informs that on the 1st of June the third edition of the campaign to raise awareness and disseminate information about sea turtle nesting in the Balearic Islands will begin.

This Wednesday, the Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Natural Environment, through the Consortium for the Recovery of Fauna on the Balearic Islands (COFIB), announced the third edition of the campaign to raise awareness of the nesting of sea turtles (Caretta caretta), also known as "loggerhead turtles", on the Balearic Islands. This programme will begin on the 1st of June and will remain active until the 31st of October, when sea turtles can nest on the coasts of the western Mediterranean and which coincides with a greater presence of people on our beaches.

The councilor for Agriculture, Fisheries and the Natural Environment, Joan Simonet, has stressed that developing environmental education actions is "key" for the conservation of the loggerhead turtle, the species of sea turtle that most frequents our coasts and which is currently classified as "vulnerable". Simonet pointed out that "the main aim of this new campaign is to inform the local population, both locals and visitors, about how to act in the event of finding a turtle, a trace of it in the sand or hatchlings emerging from the nest". In this sense, the councilor added that it is very important to notify 112 immediately so that technical staff can move to the area quickly. We should also avoid approaching the animal, disturbing it with lights or noises and try to keep the trail of sand intact.

To spread this message, during 2022 the COFIB's marine fauna department started this initiative, publishing a sticker with a QR code that links to an explanatory video, available in five languages (Catalan, Spanish, English, German and French). These stickers were distributed at different beaches, tourist information points, town halls, ports and yacht clubs, diving centers and tourist establishments throughout the Balearic archipelago. In the summer of 2023, during the second edition, the actions were repeated, but in addition, the Regional Ministry worked more closely with some of the main hotel chains, which chose to become more actively involved. The assessment of the last two years of the campaign is very positive, as more than 3,500 stickers have already been distributed and the video has received more than 14,000 views.

This year, for the third edition of the campaign, the aim is to give continuity to all these actions, with the intention of insisting on the message of public awareness and responsibility. A series of training sessions have been planned for police officers, lifeguards, technical staff of the town councils of the Balearic coast and companies awarded concessions for beach services (cleaning services, tractors, sun loungers, etc.). In this way, the aim is to focus on the personnel who are most likely to observe a case of nesting. As a novelty, this year the collaboration with tourist information centers and natural parks and protected areas throughout the archipelago will also be reinforced.

The Government will be informing of the nesting cases detected through the social networks of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Natural Environment, where all the data will be updated. Following the state strategy, as has been done in previous years, part of the hatchlings resulting from these nestings will be destined to the Head Starting programme. This method consists of raising the turtles in a controlled environment in order to release them one year later on the beach of origin, with a size and weight that significantly increase their probability of survival.do del blog (en)