Cancun, Q.R. — Nearly one million hatched sea turtles were released into the sea this year in the city of Cancun. While that number is down from last year, Cancun still recorded the highest number of released hatchlings in the state.
Fernando Haro Salinas, the Director of Ecology for the municipality of Benito Juárez, said while 953,000 hatchlings were released this year, that number is down from the year before. He said during the 2023 sea turtle season, 1,205,000 hatchlings were released. Haro Salinas said the fluctuating in numbers is normal since some years are high egg seasons while others are lower.
“We still have three or four active corrals that we are about to close, but basically in terms of the number of turtles we released, we had around 953,000 hatchlings (…) It has been a smaller number compared to last year, but not by much.”
He explained that there are always peaks in the biological processes of turtles. “There are high seasons and there are low seasons. Now we have a low season, but we still have high numbers, not as much as last year, but they are still high.”
According to Haro Salinas, the city recorded the highest number of released hatchlings in the state this year.
“In fact, we are the city with a wildlife operation permit from the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources with the most released offspring in the state,” he said.
Haro Salinas commented that the stormy hurricane season may have had an impact on the number of hatchlings this year since the storms cause beach erosion, altering the conditions for them to nest.
He reported that during the 2024 season, volunteers protected 7,445, while last year there were 11,331 nests. This year, those nests were distributed between 51 turtle camps along the coast of Cancun.
