The Tribune

By CELESTE NIXON

Tribune Staff Reporter

cnixon@tribunemedia.net

TWENTY-TWO Loggerhead turtle hatchlings made it safely to the ocean thanks to a group of Blue Lagoon Seaventure summer students.

Staff at Blue Lagoon Island believe the hatchlings became disoriented trying to find the ocean and were stranded on some rocks. Newborn turtles only have a limited amount of energy and must make it into the water soon after birth.

Marine education supervisor at Dolphin Encounters, Linzi Knowles-Belton, said the 37 summer camp students, who ranged in age from four to 14, spent more than two hours helping staff save the turtle hatchlings.

“It was so exciting”, said Mrs Knowles-Belton, “our summer students saved them, if it wasn’t for them the turtles would’ve died.”

Mrs Knowles-Belton said staff members first noticed four hatchling in the Sea Lion pool while they were conducting their morning cleaning routine.

She said on their own initiative, the children found the other 18 baby turtles on the rocks near a secluded beach.

The hatchlings were placed safely in a buckets filled with seawater and the Department of Marine Resources was contacted to ensure they followed proper procedures.

Markings on the newly-hatched turtles identified them as Loggerheads, which are common throughout the Bahamas and the greater Caribbean.

“The kids did an amazing job, they all wanted to help and I couldn’t be prouder of them,” said Mrs Knowles-Belton.

Assistant Director of Marine Mammals at Dolphin Encounters, Annette Dempsey, explained that it is not uncommon for turtles, which use the moon to guide them to water, to become disorientated by other lights

Ms Dempsey, who oversaw the release, said the hatchlings were placed on a secluded beach 10 feet away from the water around 6pm on Friday.

She said staff waited until later in the day, when the sand was cooler and there would be few predators.

As education is an important component of all 

Dolphin Encounter’s programmes, Ms Dempsey said the whole team was very excited for the children to see and help the baby turtles.

According the Bahamas National Trust website, the Loggerhead is on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red-list of threatened species.

It is listed as “endangered” due to an observed decline especially in the Mediterranean, where it is nearly extinct.

Its world population is probably no more than 100,000 adults.

The Loggerhead is also listed in Appendix 1 of the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES), meaning it is near extinction or very endangered.

Since 2009, all marine turtles are fully protected under Bahamian Law.