A meeting was held today within the framework of the INTEMARES project in order to agree on the main measures of the common protocol of action for cases of sea turtle nesting on the Spanish coast.

Cases of sea turtle nesting are becoming more frequent on the Spanish coast during the summer. To guarantee their protection and strengthen coordination between all the agents involved, a common protocol of action is being finalized at national level.

With the aim of analyzing, debating and agreeing on its main measures, technicians from the Ministry for Ecological Transition, coastal autonomous communities, recovery centers and scientists met today at the Parador del Saler, in Valencia, within the framework of the LIFE IP INTEMARES project, coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation of the same ministry. The workshop has also had the support of the Generalitat Valenciana.

The experts have addressed the importance of managing sporadic nesting events in a coordinated manner, the need to protect females and eggs, as well as the importance of detection, information and training campaigns. All these issues will be included in the protocol, which is expected to be approved in 2019, before the start of the reproductive period of the species.

During the summer months, loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) nesting records are becoming more frequent and, according to experts, could increase in the future in the western Mediterranean. Proper management is essential to guarantee the conservation of this highly migratory species, which is listed as “vulnerable” in the List of Species under Special Protection.

Within the framework of the LIFE IP INTEMARES project, other actions have been promoted to protect sea turtles that use Spanish waters as areas of food, development and a place of passage on their long transoceanic journeys. Specifically, the behaviour of 10 loggerhead turtle hatchlings after being released on a beach in Valencia has been studied and the creation of a common protocol for recovery centres that manage stranding cases has been launched, as well as specific training actions aimed at beach staff in Murcia, Almeria, the Balearic Islands and Tarragona.

Do you want to know more about the LIFE IP INTEMARES project? 

On the www.intemares.es website and on the Twitter profile @LifeIntemares you can find all the information about the largest marine conservation project in Europe, which is coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and in which the General Directorate of Sustainability of the Coast and the Sea of the same ministry participates as partners. the Spanish Institute of Oceanography, the Spanish Fisheries Confederation, SEO/BirdLife and WWF-Spain.