News

The Green sea turtle nesting season at the Cayman Turtle Centre has started early. The Centre’s first turtle hatchlings for the season have made their appearance, emerging from a nest that was laid within the Centre at the end of February. “It is such a wonder when these small turtle hatchlings decide to show up from under the sand surface. We expect to see more turtle hatchlings come from this clutch over the next few days, and many more from the eggs in the incubation boxes already in our hatchery continuing till late September,” Mr Tim Adam, Chief Executive Officer for Cayman Turtle Conservation and Education Centre said. One of the main conservation efforts at Cayman Turtle Conservation and Education Centre is the augmentation of the wild sea turtle population through our captive breeding, rearing and release of Green turtles at various life-stages. Peer-reviewed published independent studies have shown that as a result of more than three decades of this programme, The Centre has contributed nearly all of 90% of the nesting Green turtles in Cayman and this is therefore one of the most direct and impactful ways that the Centre can locally contribute to the conservation of Green sea turtles. It also gives CTCEC excellent opportunities for educating residents and visitors about sea turtles and marine conservation in general. “It is exciting to know that these hatchlings will be released into the wild in just about a year’s time. These will add to the almost 33,000 turtles that we have already released into the wild. The Cayman Turtle Centre is delighted to be a part of the solution for the growth and conservation efforts of the Green sea turtle population in the Caribbean. Recent studies proved through genetic analysis that 90% of the Green turtles nesting on the beaches of Cayman are genetically closely related to the turtles bred at the Centre and released into the wild. The reality is that these little hatchlings that have emerged here at the Centre will eventually go into the ocean as one or two year old turtles and have a good head-start with much better chances of surviving to adulthood. They’ll then come back 20 or more years later to nest on our beaches. That is so exciting” Chief Marketing and Merchandising Officer, Mrs Renee Howell said. “We are looking forward to re-opening the Centre soon where residents from the local community and eventually visitors to the Cayman Islands can see up close the turtle hatchlings in our hatchery, as well as the yearlings and older turtles in our encounters and exhibits. In the meantime though, it is important to the Cayman Islands and to our Company’s mission that we secure the safety and health of our crew and our visitors during the COVID-19 situation the world is facing. During this period, the many animals at the Centre have been receiving amazing care and nourishment from our essential crew members going to the Centre each day in separate shifts, observing social distancing and other precautionary protocols” Mr Adam said. “It is expected that over the next few months, with the recovery from the pandemic crisis our island and our beaches will reopen for residents and visitors and soon we can release more turtles into the wild as part of private group sponsorships to help sustain our ongoing conservation efforts,” Mr Adam said. To learn more about the Cayman Turtle Centre and turtle release sponsorship opportunities or to arrange an exciting experience at the Centre once it has re-opened following the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery, please visit www.turtle.ky or follow our social media channels www.facebook.com/CaymanTurtleCentre I www.instagram.com/CaymanTurtleCentre and www.twitter.com/CaymanTurtle