ARCHIVED - First baby loggerhead turtles in over 100 years in Murcia doing well in San Pedro del Pinatar

The young turtles will be re-released next year at the Calblanque beach where they hatched

Eleven of the baby loggerhead sea turtles which hatched during September from eggs laid on the beach of Cala Arturo in the regional park of Calblanque are still being cared for at the IMIDA marine aquiculture centre in San Pedro del Pinatar (others have been transferred to the Oceanogràfic centre in Valencia), and are reported to be progressing well.

The eggs laid in July were the first on record at any beach in the Region of Murcia since the late 19th century, although in recent years such events have begun to take place sporadically at other locations on the Mediterranean coast of Spain and in the Balearics. Many of the 66 eggs were unfertilized, but 21 young turtles hatched successfully and were quickly taken into care in order to maximize their chances of survival: in the wild it is estimated that as few as one in a thousand reach maturity.

The turtles in San Pedro, like those in Valencia, are being closely monitored and will be kept in captivity for approximately a year before being a decision is made regarding their re-release into the wild at the beach where they were born. The main concern is that they should be able to avoid and ward off predators, and after a similar program at the Oceanogràfic two years ago 9 out of ten loggerheads released are known to have survived, despite the fact that the species is now threatened not only by predators but also by the increasing amount of plastics and other waste in the world’s seas and oceans.

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