| | |  News from Around Banderas Bay | September 2009 
It's Turtle Time in Puerto Vallarta
 PVNN
September 14, 2009
Following their ancient annual cycle of reproduction, sea turtles are making their way back to the shores of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where numerous hotels run marine turtle conservation and protection programs with the help of professional marine biologists.
The eggs are incubated in their nests to best preserve natural conditions, and once the hatchlings are born and ready to be set free, the hotels invite guests to aid in the release. Its a unique educational opportunity, perfect for children and a thrill for adults too.
Participating hotels include the CasaMagna Marriot Puerto Vallarta Resort & Spa, Velas Vallarta Suite Resort, Sheraton Buganvilias Resort, Dreams Puerto Vallarta, and Presidente InterContinental.
The main objective is to protect the eggs from looting and natural predators and teach resort guests about environmental conservation. Each night from July to December, resort staff members at properties located along the beach head down to the shore to gather eggs and carefully re-bury them in the Turtle Camp's breeding grounds, where they are watched over until they hatch.
After 45 days of protected incubation, the hatchlings emerge from their eggs and are ready to be released on the beach - their nesting site - with the aid of the resorts' recreational staff members and families staying at the hotels. Tradition holds that the children name their tiny sea turtle babies, wish them luck, then set them free onto the resorts' beaches to find their way into the water.
Since young sea turtles face threats to their survival from land predators, the turtles are only released at night. Resort staff members educate participants on turtles and Mexico's environmental awareness initiatives to save the sea turtles.
"As a result of our Sea Turtle Release Program, 96 percent of these eggs will hatch. Prior to this program, only 40 percent of the eggs would hatch. So we're happy to be doing a real service to aid in the recovery of the sea turtle population on both Mexican coasts," states Dennis Whitelaw, General Manager of the Marriott CasaMagna Puerto Vallarta.
In 2008, more than 81,000 turtles were released from the beaches of Puerto Vallarta, of which approximately 8,000 are expected to survive. Within 10 years, the females will return and lay eggs at the same beach. |
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