Last June 16th was Sea Turtle Day, 🐢 giving us an excellent opportunity to honor and highlight the significance of these amazing creatures in our ecosystem. Sea Turtles are a keystone species, meaning that they have a fundamental role in our environment and a VERY important influence on other species. Among other things, these reptiles contribute to keeping our coral reefs healthy and transporting essential nutrients from the ocean to beaches and coastal dunes.
All seven species of Sea Turtles that exist in the world, nest on the coasts of Mexico and four of them here in Quintana Roo. Keep reading and discover a little more about these great marine animals and how to protect them!
Throughout history, sea turtles have had a significant place in the conception of life, culture and nature, and were usually connected with fertility, longevity, and good luck. The Mayas related its shell to the cosmic vault and believed that the animal’s body was the axis that connected both heaven and earth 🎇🌌
When can you see Sea Turtles in the Mexican Caribbean?
The season begins in May and ends in September. During these months, the females come ashore to lay their eggs and cover them with sand. Want to hear something amazing? The females come all the way back to lay their eggs at the exact same spot they were born! 😲😍
Where can you see them without intervening in their habitat?
Sea turtles are in distress, and we can help them by interfering as little as possible in the marine ecosystem.
There are many places in the Mexican Caribbean where you can enjoy this spectacular experience and help preserve their habitat:
Swimming Pools of Xcaret Park
This stunning park has a Sea Turtle Conservation Program covering 13 nesting beaches, making this the largest program of its kind in Mexico.
🐝 loQsea Tip: Want to live the incredible sea turtle experience at Xcaret Park? We can help you!
Cancun
There are three spots to wait for the sea turtles at night: Playa Delfines, Playa Marlín and Playa Chac Mool. Make sure to arrive 15 minutes before 8pm to secure your place! It’s of vital importance to keep it dark (no pointing with the flashlight or similar) to avoid disturbing the sea turtles and interrupting them while nesting.
Xcacel-Xcacelito
This place is a sanctuary where around 200,000 white and loggerhead hatchlings are released every year. It’s open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 4pm. Get in the water with your snorkel equipment and find a few sea turtles in the wild!
🐝 loQsea Tip: Bring your own beach equipment, food, and water with you; there is no beach club nearby. Need a beach chair or umbrella? We’ll deliver them to you!
Akumal
Looking for some snorkeling with turtles and other amazing sea life? This is the right place to go! Akumal means “place of turtles” in Mayan, and it’s also the perfect spot to walk along the beach at night and, hopefully, see some sea turtles!
🐝 loQsea Tip: If you’d like to book a snorkeling tour in Akumal, we can take care of it!
What can you do to protect our sea turtles?
💚 Participate in coastal clean-ups and reduce plastic use to keep our beaches and oceans clean and healthy. Turtles confuse plastic bags with jellyfish and eat them, they can get tangled up with ropes and nets, etc.. Always make sure to take all your trash with you after your beach day and discard it properly.
🏖 Remove beach equipment like chairs, umbrellas, etc. and knock down sandcastles at night, so sea turtles don’t turn away when coming ashore.
❌ Do not touch, or in any way disturb, sea turtles and their nests. Allow hatchings to get to the ocean independently.
🕳 Before leaving, fill in holes and flatten the beach area you enjoyed. Sea turtles and hatchlings can get trapped in holes.
🐢 When seeing a nesting sea turtle: Keep lights off, stay back and be silent. If she is disturbed, she might leave before laying her eggs or being able to cover them properly.
🍤 Become a conscious and responsible seafood consumer by choosing local and seasonal seafood caught by fishing rods or in ways that do not harm our sea turtles. Sadly many of them end up as bycatch in the big fishing nets.