Since 2009, May 23 has been established as WORLD TURTLE DAY. Grupo BlueBay , through its BlueBay Means Green campaign, defends, protects and spreads awareness about the lives of these turtles. Thus, the hotels owned by the Group in the Riviera Maya, collaborate in the “Agenda for Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles,” with the assignment of a particular area called “the farm,” and selected personnel for the protection and control the entire process of nesting, hatching and release of the hatchling. This is hard work, in which the involvement and awareness of all employees and guests are essential for the proper functioning of the program. Among others, these are some of the measures taken:
- From 21:00 hrs., all lights and reflectors directed at the beach area are turned off.
- The bunks are moved from the beach area or they are being folded and put in places where they don’t hinder the process of nesting of the sea turtles. The same happens with watercraft (wave runner, jet ski, etc..) which are moved to places where they don’t hinder the process of spawning of these turtles.
- Guests and staff are informed not to disturb or take pictures of sea turtles during the nesting process.
- After 21:00 hrs., beach activities such as photographs, events with sound and lights, etc.. are prohibited.
We also carry out a thorough screening and identification process of the nests, during which important data is recorded, such as: time of arrival of the turtles that come to spawn, the species it belongs to, the number of eggs in the making, the length and width of the nest… For example, last August, we counted 9,000 eggs in the farm of the BelleVue Beach Paradise Hotel.
When the time of hatching comes, managers should note the date, number of offspring born dead, deformed, albino… or unhatched eggs, among other observations. After the hatching, the staff gathers on the beach all guests interested in participating in the release of baby turtles, usually by the end of July.
It is also a very pleasant kind of work, in which joys and surprises are gratefully received. For example, in July last year there was an unusual arrival of sea turtle of the species Chelonia mydas to the beaches of BlueBay Grand Esmeralda resort, so we proceeded to demarcate the nest to protect them from predators circulating in these beaches, such as raccoons, badgers, blackbirds and other marine predators.
In the last turtle season, Zofemat (Ministry of Environment) reported that a turtle came to spawn to the beach of the BelleVue Beach Paradise hotel that had left the beaches of Cancun 15 years ago. It could be confirmed because many of them are put rings on to keep track of them. This event was very important because we must bear in mind that, according to statistics kept by Zofemat, only 1% of the turtles that are born and leave these beaches, survive.
We hope to enjoy the birth of new turtle offspring, as well as the return of many turtles that left our shores.
No Comment