‘Tis the season for turtle nesting, which starts June and ends September.On average, an adult female will nest every two to four years, laying eggs three to five times per season. Studies have shown that she will nest on or near the same beach where she was born 20 to 30 years earlier.The hawksbill turtle prefers to nest at night near or in natural beach vegetation in dry sand well above the high-water mark.An adult hawksbill turtle ranges from between 150 to about 220 pounds and can reach a length of about three feet or just shorter than a metre.Several weeks before nesting season the turtles mate at sea. When it is time to lay eggs, the female hawksbill will carefully make her way to shore to deposit her eggs in the sand – an average of about 150 leathery, ping-pong ball-sized eggs.
Before this she carefully searches for a safe spot and intricately digs what is called a nest (hole) about half a metre deep or as far as her back fins can reach. After that, she cautiously dumps her eggs in one by one.Officials with the Barbados Sea Turtle Project recommend that no light be shone on or in the direction of the turtle during the nesting time.“Lights that are visible from the beach will discourage females from nesting . . . Lights that shine on the beach should be lowered, shielded or redirected away from the beach,” stated a release.Hawksbill turtles nest primarily on the West and South Coast beaches of Barbados.After the female turtle lays her eggs, she then carefully, like any mother, seeks to protect the young ones. This female does so by compacting sand on the eggs, shielding them from any harmful elements and also giving them the correct temperature so they can hatch.Putting the sand over the eggs is also seen as a way of disguising her nesting area.This process was recently witnessed by a SUNDAY SUN team at the beach at Hastings Rocks, Christ Church, near the boardwalk.Field volunteer Craig Gun-Munro said his duty was to measure the turtle and make notes of important data, including nesting location, while ensuring the nesting area was safe.After the female has finished depositing her eggs, she makes her way back to the sea. It is said that when she leaves, she may never see or even know her hatchlings during the rest of her life time.After about 60 days or so, the eggs are hatched and the young ones make their way to the sea so they, too, can continue this interesting process.Hawksbill sea turtles are “critically” endangered, according to the Barbados Sea Turtle Project.It is estimated that only one in 1 000 hatchlings will survive to adulthood – an age of 20 to 30 years old. And it is only then that they begin to reproduce.A moratorium on sea turtle harvesting was introduced by Government in 1998, prohibiting persons from catching any species of sea turtle or possessing any turtle products such as meat, eggs or shells.
Penalties include fines of up to $50 000 and/or two years in jail.
