May begins sea turtle nesting season along the Caribbean coast of Mexico. Female sea turtles make their way through the waves and trudge up on the beach to dig their nest and lay their eggs. When you are here this summer, you can witness this amazing natural event with the safety of the turtles in mind.
Tips For Observing the Nesting Turtles:
- Remove beach chairs from the beach at night if staff fails to do so. Please move them as far back as possible.
- Do not approach sea turtles on the beach and always use a red light when trying to watch them. You can place a piece of red cellophane over a flashlight to soften the glare.
- Do not take any flash photographs.
- Do not touch the nests. If you find a nest is not marked, you can make a small marker with stones or sticks.
- Remember to minimize the use of indoor lights that can be seen from the beach, and make sure any outdoor lights are red. If the outdoor lights of your vacation rental have not been changed, ask your property manager to do so.
- Never touch any sea turtles, nor pursue them, either on the beach or while snorkeling or diving.
- Later in the summer when the turtles hatch, do not participate in activities that require capturing hatchlings to be released later. Catching hatchlings stress the turtles, weakens them, and exposes them to disease, thus reducing their chances of survival at sea.
- It is a federal offense to handle any endangered species, such as Sea Turtles, without proper government authorization. Report any irregularities to PROFEPA at 1-800-776-3372, or through their website, or by email.
Finally, we would like to add you can contribute to the well-being of the turtles anytime of the year by not using drinking straws. Plastic straws never biodegrade. Marine life eats straws and other plastics thinking its food.
Watch a sobering video on what a drinking straw can do to a sea turtle. You will never use a straw again.
Sin Popote (no straw), is a simple step that can lead to a lifetime of change.