Hawksbill nest ends longest recorded turtle season

(CNS): The 2022 sea turtle nesting season has broken yet another record after the final group of baby turtles emerged from their long incubation on 22 February, almost 11 months after the first early nest was recorded in March last year. 2022 also saw the most nests counted in any season since records began. The last turtles to emerge were from a hawksbill nest in Little Cayman, which had taken 75 days to incubate as a result of the cooler winter temperatures.

This was one of six hawksbill nests this season, and although this species is rare, it had a relatively successful average hatching of 86%, with 556 of the endangered marine animals making it into the sea. But the low number of hawksbill nests reflects the precarious situation for the local population of this once-abundant turtle.

During 2022 and into 2023, a record-breaking total of 858 nests were counted across all sea turtle species, 169 more than the previous high in 2017, when there were 689 nests. The increase resulted from a steep rise in the number of green turtle nests, which topped the numbers with 528. There were 324 loggerhead nests this year, as this species continues on a gradual but positive trajectory.

The 2023 nesting season will be starting soon and those lucky enough to be beachfront property owners are being urged to install turtle-friendly lighting to help conserve Cayman’s wild sea turtles. Poor lighting from beachfront development remains one of the most significant threats to the survival of hatchlings and the potential recovery of all of the endangered turtles nesting across the Cayman Islands.

Every season hundreds of baby turtles are lost as soon as they hatch due to disorientation from light pollution. Given that only a handful of turtles ever make it to adulthood from the thousands that hatch each year due to natural predators, each and every hatchling counts.

For more information, email emu.doe@gov.ky