ARCHIVED - The first Murcia-born loggerhead turtles in over a century are growing up fast in San Pedro del Pinatar



11 of the 21 baby turtles born in Calnegre are being reared at the marine aquiculture centre in San Pedro

The baby loggerhead sea turtles which hatched last year at the beach of Cala Arturo in the regional park of Calnegre, the first event of its kind in the Region of Murcia for over a century, are progressing well at the Marine Aquiculture centre in San Pedro del Pinatar and are to benefit from the effects of new heating devices being incorporated into the facilities by the IMIDA research and development institute.

The new equipment will help to maintain the correct temperature in the tanks where 11 of the 21 turtles which hatched are being looked after. 66 eggs were laid but only 21 were fertilized, and the other 10 babies are in the care of the Centro Oceanográfico in Valencia, where they are being included in the “head starting” program to help re-establish loggerhead populations along the Mediterranean coastlines of Spain.

Each turtle will be looked after for approximately a year before being released at the beach where it was born, and of a previous batch of ten which were released by the centre in Valencia in November 2017 at least 9 are known to have survived. This represents a considerable success, as in natural conditions it is estimated that only 1 in 1,000 babies reaches maturity.

At present the turtles at the IMIDA centre in San Pedro are being fed twice daily and their weight has now reached around 300 grams each, although two are slightly smaller.

The eggs laid last July were the first on record at any beach in the Region of Murcia since the late 19th century, although in recent years such events have begun to take place sporadically at other locations on the Mediterranean coast of Spain and in the Balearics. Now that the young turtles are growing, the main concern is that they should be able to avoid and ward off predators, as well as facing up to the threat of the increasing amount of plastics and other waste in the world’s seas and oceans.

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