Two new caretaker sea turtle (Caretta caretta) nests have been located on the beaches of the Ebro Delta (Tarragona) and in Malgrat de Mar (Barcelona). With these, there are now four nests of this species classified as vulnerable found this season on the Catalan coast.
In the new nest found in the Ebro Delta there were 80 eggs. Following the action protocol in these cases, 14 of them have been transferred to the facilities of the Foundation for the Conservation and Recovery of Marine Animals (CRAM) and the Amphibian and Reptile Recovery Center of Catalonia (CRARC).
In the facilities in question they will be artificially incubated and viability will be ensured in case of any contingency that could occur on the beach. The rest have been left in the nest, which has been moved to a dune area to avoid the risk of flooding.
The notice of the new nest was given by some fishermen at dawn from June 24 to 25. Then the operation was organized in which technicians from the Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda and the Ebro Delta Natural Park, the BETA Technological Center of the University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia, the CRAM, the CRARC and the Corps of Rural Agents.
As for the nest discovered in Malgrat de Mar, the notice was given by an individual through 112 this Monday. The nest holds 130 eggs, one of them broken. 90 have been kept in the nest on the beach and the rest have been transferred to CRAM and CRARC. The Local Police and the Malgrat de Mar City Council have also collaborated in the operation.
The breeding season for the skin turtle starts at the beginning of June and lasts until the end of October. Mothers usually nest between mid-June and late July, and young begin to emerge from early August to mid-to-late October.
Sea turtle nesting in the western Mediterranean began about 10 to 15 years ago, indicating a change in behavior probably driven by climate change, experts say.
The state catalog considers the species to be in the vulnerable category and is at risk of being listed as endangered. Among the different factors that increase their risk of disappearance are water pollution, accidental fishing or light in cities and ports.
