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Turtle Nesting & Beach Dynamics Observation Program
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The
Hawksbill turtle is listed as an endangered species
by the International Union for the Conservation
of Nature and Natural Resources. For six months
every year, these turtles visit Intendance Bay in
the Seychelles to nest. Naturally we’re interested
in making our beach a safe and pleasant place for
the eggs and hatchlings, to help keep Hawksbill
populations alive.
With this in mind, Banyan
Tree Seychelles has joined hands
with the Marine Conservation Society of Seychelles
(MCSS) to implement a Turtle Nesting and Beach Dynamics
Observation Program.
Planned to run for three years so as to yield sufficient
data for detailed scientific research and analysis,
the program tracks the population of nesting turtles
and number of hatchlings per nest and uses beach
cartography and GPS monitoring devices to observe
sand movement, dune structure and vegetation coverage.
The impact of sand movement, hotel development and
resort activities on nesting behavior will be assessed,
with a view towards developing beach management
practices that minimize negative impacts and learning
how to increase the number of successful Hawksbill
hatches. The project is implemented under the |
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supervision of Mrs Jeanne Mortimer, Ph.D.; Mr John
Nevill, Director of MCSS; and Mr Maximilian Lennkh,
General Manager of Banyan Tree Seychelles. |
Throughout
the nesting periods, special effort will be taken to
keep the eggs and hatchlings protected, and to ensure
that help is on hand when eggs hatch.
Guests
and children are encouraged to witness the hatches,
and students from the Takamaka School will be invited
to observe the nesting. To foster greater sensitivity
towards the Hawksbills, a drawing competition for children
will also be organized and, following the success of
the “turtle
book” in the Maldives, a Hawksbill
Turtle book published.
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