Turtles Nesting In Record Numbers On Spanish Coast

According to researchers, climate change has seen record numbers of Turtles nesting in Spain and Italy, what was once a rare occurrence is now becoming more common.

The sea turtle’s habits are changing because of the warming of Mediterranean waters. At least 15 sea turtle nests have been detected in recent weeks on beaches along the Spanish coast, with two cases in Mallorca, writes Diario de Mallorca, Tuesday, July 11.

Italy too has seen a huge increase with around 100 or so nests, laid in Italy, which is a record number of nest sites on the coasts of the western Mediterranean in a single season.

Biodiversity Challenge

The details have been confirmed by various experts from the universities of Vic, Barcelona and the Polytechnic of Valencia, which, with the collaboration of the University of Valencia and the Doñana Biological Station, has begun work on the InGeNi-Caretta project. A project which has been financed by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the European Union.

According to biologists, climate change is modifying the nesting area of the loggerhead turtle (scientific name: Caretta caretta) and has taken it to regions where it had not nested before, which poses new challenges for biodiversity management in these territories.

This emerging colonisation is occurring in areas popularised with humans, as is the case on the Spanish coast, another reason why appropriate management is needed if the turtles are to succeed.

Areas Where Turtles Have Been Sighted In Spain

The first sea turtle nest detected this season in Spain appeared at the beginning of June on Can Pere Toni beach in Palma, Mallorca. It was soon followed by more nests detected on beaches in Catalonia, Valencia, Murcia and Andalusia.

Scientists hope that the results of  the InGeNi-Caretta project ‘will make it possible to improve conservation measures for the species, particularly with regard to nesting activity on the Spanish Mediterranean coasts.