A total of 21 sea turtles have entered the sea for the first time from the El Parador de El Saler beach in València, from the nest registered in the Valencian Community in June 2024, on El Saler beach.
The turtles have entered the sea after being raised for a year at the Oceanogràfic de València, as part of the conservation Head Starting project of its Foundation, as indicated by the Oceanogràfic, the Generalitat, and the City Council in a statement.
The Oceanogràfic has pointed out that the group of turtles that entered the sea comes from the second nest registered in the Valencian Community during the 2024 season. It was discovered on the night of San Juan, June 23, when a female Caretta caretta species came out of the sea to lay eggs, precisely on the beach where the release took place today.
Due to the risk to the viability of the eggs, and as is customary in nesting cases, part of the nest was transferred to a protected area of the l’Albufera Natural Park, where it was monitored 24 hours a day, while the rest was incubated at the Oceanogràfic facilities.
With the Head Starting program, the hatchlings grow in a controlled environment until they reach an «optimal» size and weight, increasing their chances of survival in the open sea. It has been highlighted that, while in natural conditions only one out of every thousand turtles reaches adulthood, this protocol «raises that success rate to 90%.»
The release was presided over by the Councilor for Environment, Infrastructure, and Territory of the Generalitat, Vicente Martínez Mus, the regional secretary, Raúl Mérida, the director general of Natural and Animal Environment, Luis Gomis, the Mayor of València, María José Catalá, and the Councilor for Environment, Juan Carlos Caballero, as well as the president and vice president of the Oceanogràfic Foundation, Celia and Mercedes Calabuig, the deputy director of the Oceanogràfic, Marta Calabuig, as well as the director of the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències, Ana Ortells, and the CEO of Global Omnium, Dionisio García.
Representatives from Romar Global Care company, technicians from the University of València, volunteers, and students from CEIP Padre Manjón de La Torre, one of the schools affected by the event, have also joined them.
Each attendee has symbolically contributed to the release of a turtle into the sea, including six specimens handed to participating children, «reinforcing the educational component of the event.»
In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of loggerhead turtle nests on the Valencian coast, which «could be related to climate change and the progressive colonization» of the western Mediterranean by this species. In the past two years, 17 nests have been recorded in the Valencian Community, two of them in El Saler.
Since the start of the Head Starting project, over 600 sea turtles from Valencian Community nests have been introduced into the natural environment thanks to the collaboration between the Oceanogràfic Foundation, the University of València, the Valencian Government, and other public and private entities.
One of the turtles released this morning had a satellite tracking device funded by Romar Global Care company — which sponsored two of the animals — allowing the scientific team to learn more about their migratory routes and behavior patterns in the open sea.
The Oceanogràfic Foundation has emphasized the importance of these initiatives as a conservation tool and has thanked the public for their involvement in detecting nests and protecting the hatchlings during the custody process.
«SUITABILITY» OF THE VALENCIAN COASTS
On the other hand, the Councilor for Environment, Infrastructure, and Territory, Vicente Martínez Mus, has highlighted the «symbol of the suitability» of the Valencian coasts for the nesting and protection of this «emblematic» species.
The councilor has stressed the significance of the event «as an action of environmental protection and an example of the success of the joint effort of the Generalitat, the Oceanogràfic, the University of València, and the collaboration of volunteers and citizens in the protection of this species.»
«It is especially significant to release these turtles here, in El Saler, the same area where one of the nests appeared last year. This environment is not only a natural site of incalculable value but also a model of constant collaboration and custody, with teams that watched over the eggs day and night for their safety,» he affirmed.
«PRESERVING THE MARINE ECOSYSTEM»
Similarly, the Mayor of València, María José Catalá, has also highlighted the institutional collaboration «to preserve the marine ecosystem» and the work of the Oceanogràfic «to ensure its viability and control the breeding of these reptiles.»
The mayor, who noted that two of the 17 nests found in the Valencian Community in the last two years were discovered in El Saler, also emphasized the «educational component» of the event. «It is traditionally celebrated in June, when the crucial period for the reproduction of these animals on our coast beaches begins, and as a prelude to the summer awareness campaign to act correctly if a nesting is detected on the Valencian coast, which will be exhibited this summer on the urban furniture displays of València,» she explained.
«The city is committed to ocean cleanliness, the care of marine fauna, and works for sustainability to continue the European Green Capital that did not end last year, and for this, it is important to educate and raise awareness among citizens, with a special emphasis on the child population,» Catalá emphasized.