A total of 165 turtle nests have been logged since the start of the 2023 nesting season, a record tally for this time of year, according to the Department of Environment.
The DoE welcomed the high number of nests as it commemorated the start of Sea Turtle Week, which runs from 8 June (World Environment Day) until 16 June (World Sea Turtle Day).
“Across the Cayman Islands, we have so far recorded 165 nests (153 loggerhead turtle nests and 12 green turtle nests). This is a record number of nests for this time of year.
The green turtle nesting season only recently began, with the first nest laid on 1st June in Grand Cayman,” the DoE said in a post Tuesday on its official Facebook page.
More nests found
Cayman marked the start of loggerhead turtle nesting season on 12 April with the first nest for the islands recorded in Cayman Brac.
This nest has recently produced 102 hatchlings, four of which received a helping hand from the Cayman Brac Turtle Patrol team as they emerged from their nest.
Helen LeRoy, head coordinator of Cayman Brac Turtle Patrol team, said they were excited for the season after recording more nests this week.
“It’s been busy and getting busier. We’re just now starting the peak of the season now. It’ll stay busy usually through August where most of our nesting will be completed around mid-September and then after that we have the remainder of nests to monitor and possibly a few late nesters as well,” she told the Compass in a telephone interview Tuesday.
She also pointed out that just a few days ago the team located a green sea turtle nest too close to the sea and they had to move the eggs to a safer area higher up the beach.
“We had 104 eggs in that clutch that she laid. So if we had not relocated them they would have been washed away. That’s our main mission… to protect the turtle nests and try to get as many hatchlings as we can out to sea which helps to increase their odds,” she said.
The DoE pointed out that loggerhead turtles usually complete nesting in August, with green turtles by October.
Last year, Cayman logged a record-breaking 858 nests, the highest total since the DoE started keeping statistics in 1998.
Cayman’s previous high of 689 nests was recorded in 2017, and 2022’s numbers also represented a 54% increase over the overall total in 2021.
LeRoy is urging the public to be mindful of the nesting season and hatchlings that will be emerging in the coming months.
“We try to remind the public, now that it’s turtle nesting season not to build any bonfires on turtle nesting beaches. It’s usually our sandy beaches that we get the most nesting on. They could possibly build a fire right over a nest and not even know it and that will kill the eggs. Just be vigilant,” she said.
She added that trash on the beaches is a problem, saying it was “washing up from everywhere and it’s killing our wildlife”.
LeRoy called on the public to make sure they take their trash with them after they visit the beach.
Turtle species can be identified by the size and shape of their tracks and nests.
The public can report suspected turtle tracks on the beach, or any turtle-related emergencies, by sending a WhatsApp message to the DoE Turtle Hotline at 938-NEST (938-6378).
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