Home About Bocas Festivals & EventsTurtle Nesting Season Begins in Bocas!

Turtle Nesting Season Begins in Bocas!

As turtle nesting season begins in Bocas, learn how you can help protect these critically endangered species.

alt One of nature’s most spectacular and moving sights has to be watching a giant sea turtle laying its eggs by moonlight on a sandy beach.

Nesting season is the only time the females ever return to land during their lifetimes, and they will always return to the same beach where they emerged from their eggs as tiny hatchlings, and crawled into the sea for the first time.

Species and Habitats

Green, hawksbill and loggerhead turtles nest on the beaches of Bocas del Toro, as well as the mighty leatherback sea turtle, a giant with a shell covered in leather (not scales like the other sea turtle species) whose fins alone can reach up to 2.5 meters.

Bluff beach on Isla Colón, Long Beach on Isla Bastimentos and the beaches of the remote Zapatilla Cays are common nesting sites, as well as the long stretches of beach on the mainland, crossing the border into Costa Rica.

Threats

alt Due to their immense size and impenetrable shells, adult sea turtles have no natural predators. But as a result of human activity, all of these species are listed as either endangered or critically endangered. Some are hunted for their attractive shells, used to make ornaments, while others are hunted for their meat. Eggs are harvested in their thousands from the beaches, and eaten or sold. Sand mining disturbs or destroys the nests, and leaves beaches unsuitable for nesting. Construction sites near the beaches cause noise and light pollution, which deter the creatures from laying their eggs. Water pollution and dumped waste is another major threat; jellyfish form an important part of the turtles´ diet, and they often mistake floating plastic bags for jellyfish, resulting in death.

Sadly, all of these things continue to happen in Bocas del Toro.

Threats to Nesting Sites

Statement by Natalia Decastro

One of the biggest threats to sea turtles is coastal development. The use of turtle nesting beaches or lands adjacent can threaten the habitat for the sea turtle nesting females and hatchlings. Artificial lights near the nesting beaches can disorient the nesting females and the hatchlings. Logs and other objects on the beach are obstacles that make it harder for the female to complete the nesting activity and then return to the sea. Compacted sand, which happens when nesting beaches have vehicles driven on them or heavy loads are carried over the beach, makes it difficult for the female to dig the nest, and makes it impossible for hatchlings to emerge so they die as a result of suffocation. As the time for emerging draws closer, hatchlings become more vulnerable, as the sand loosens up due to nature’s processes, to make it easier for the hatchling to get out. However it also makes it easier for an accident when someone is just walking on the beach. And also a car track or a footprint can be a huge obstacle to overcome for a little hatchling.

Una de las mayores amenazas para las tortugas marinas es el desarrollo costero, el uso de las playas de anidación y las tierras cercanas a estas puede amenazar el hábitat de las hembras anidantes y las crías; la iluminación artificial cerca de las playas de anidación desorienta a las hembras y las crías, la presencia de troncos u objetos en la playa son obstáculos que dificultan la actividad de anidación, el retorno al mar y compactan la arena, el uso de playas de anidación para movilizar vehículos, cargas pesadas sobre la playa producen compactación de la arena, que se traduce en dificultad para las hembras anidantes a la hora de excavar el nido, así como la imposibilidad de las crías para emerger y mueren asfixiadas, los nidos son especialmente vulnerables cuando se acerca el periodo de eclosión, la arena sobre éstos se vuelve menos compacta, para facilitar el intercambio gaseoso y la salida de las crías, por lo que las crías se encuentran especialmente vulnerables durante ese periodo, además para una pequeña cría la huella de un carro o de la pisada de un adulto se convierte en un enorme obstáculo por superar.

What can I do?

As a visitor to Bocas del Toro, you have an important part to play in the conservation of sea turtles. There are a number of things you can do to discourage illegal hunting and egg harvesting, and to support local turtle conservation initiatives.

Write an e-mail expressing your support for Turlte conservation efforts to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Do not visit any restaurant serving turtle meat or eggs
Do not purchase any souvenirs made from turtle shells
Buy a recycled bag from the BSTA Tourist Information Center. Each durable, attractive bag is made from between 60 and 80 discarded plastic carrier bags, which would otherwise be dumped and pose a threat to the turtles . The bags are cleaned, prepared and hand-knitted by 30 women from local communities in mainland Bocas del Toro. The bags are washable and 100% ecologically friendly; and the profits support the craftswomen and their families. Visit www.widecast.org for more information.
Take part in a turtle volunteer program in the San San Pond Sak Wetlands. AAMVECONA – Friends and Neighbours of the Coast and Nature – is a community-run NGO whose turtle monitoring programs have increased the local leatherback population, as well as providing a source of income for local residents, and an alternative to turtle hunting and egg harvesting. See their program here or contact BSTA for more information about their longer-term, affordable volunteer positions.

For more information about Caribbean sea turtles, visit www.widecast.org WIDECAST (the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Network), the Caribbean Conservation Corporation, or see the wildlife section of this website.