MORE THAN 60 000 turtle hatchlings were released by the Barbados Sea Turtle Project last year.
And while that figure might seem good, said deputy field director of the Sea Turtle Project, Carla Daniel, it also meant that all those hatchlings needed to be rescued.
She was speaking to Heather-Lynn’s Habitat in the wake of the project’s first public hatchling release on Monday evening. About 150 visitors and tourists watched as 104 hatchlings made their way down the beach and into the water at Fitts Village, St James.
Daniel revealed the 2016 figures were a major increase on the numbers from 2015.
“We had an increase – 52 378 hatchlings were released in 2015 and then in 2016 it was over 60 000 that were rescued and released,” she said.
“So we definitely had an increase, but that may not necessarily be a good thing because it meant that more hatchlings needed to be rescued. It also means an increase in issues – hatchling disorientation, hatchlings going towards the light, hatchlings getting crushed in the roads.”
She added that given the statistics, which showed that only one in 1 000 hatchlings would survive to adulthood, it took a lot of work to ensure that “as many of them get to the water”.
Daniel said the emergence of the hatchlings from their nest at Read’s Bay, St James, at this time of year, was not necessarily strange, since some adult Hawksbill turtles came ashore to nest outside of the peak nesting season from June to August.
“So we do get hatchlings, not as frequently, but we do get hatchings in the other months of the year.”
The deputy director was also pleased with the number of people who turned out for the event. She said they were “very enthusiastic and interested in what was going on”.
She was especially pleased with the number of children who were in the crowd. She admitted that while adults, who were on the Richard Haynes Boardwalk at night, might be lucky enough to see a nesting turtle or hatchlings, children would not see such an event.
“One of the things about hatchlings is that they are good for kids because where you may have adults interacting with hatchlings at night . . . you don’t have little kids with them at that point.
“So it (a hatchling release) is one of the events where little kids can have a personal interaction with the turtles and they can appreciate and value them from very young, which is hopefully something that would continue as they get older,” Daniel noted.
She added such an early interaction would also foster a greater awareness of environmental and marine issues, such as the proper disposal of garbage and litter.
“It kinda takes some of the concepts they are learning in the classroom and it gives a more real world kind of appeal. So I think it is very, very good for that.”
