The Fundación Canaria Parque Científico Tecnológico continues with its green turtle conservation project in the Canary Islands.

In 2015, the Fundación Canaria Parque Científico Tecnológico de la Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) launched the project “The green turtle (Chelonia mydas) and the Natura 2000 Network in the Canary Islands”, whose objective was based on contributing to the conservation of the green turtle in the Canary Islands through biological studies and dissemination activities.

After the end of the project, there is a need to continue with the development of actions that increase knowledge about the biology and ecology of this species in the archipelago, as well as to develop activities that help reduce the impact of the pressures identified. To this end, this second phase aims to: identify places with the presence of green turtles on the islands of Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro; expand knowledge about the origin of the specimens; habitat type; diet; the state of health of the animals; the threats that affect the species; to propose measures for its conservation in the Natura 2000 Network in the Canary Islands and to inform and disseminate good practices among sea users who interact with the green turtle.

Through the execution of this project, results have been obtained on the distribution of the green turtle in the Canary Islands and its feeding habits and habitat use. The entity assisted 16 localities with the presence of green turtles, capturing 9 specimens from which they took blood samples, photographs of both sides of the head and inserted a microchip. In addition, they photo-identified 15 turtles and have included them in the general databases MAPAMA and PITMAR. They analyzed the origin of these specimens and determined that the individuals came from Guinea Bissau, Suriname, Mexico and Costa Rica among other countries. Through the analysis of epibionts and faecal samples, they investigated the diet and habitats used by green turtles in the Canary Islands, obtaining data on the use of benthic resources, with a diet based on algae, cephalopods, jellyfish and fish remains.