Benito Juárez Releases Over 950K Sea Turtles in Cancún 2024

As the sea turtle nesting and release season draws to a close, the Benito Juárez municipality, through its Department of Ecology, has announced that more than 950,000 hatchlings have been released. This number is out of the 978,000 eggs that were protected, and there are still three or four active nesting sites awaiting hatching.

Throughout the 2024 sea turtle season, 54 turtle enclosures were established, including four municipal ones and others from various hotels with wildlife permits. These enclosures protected 7,429 sea turtle nests. This figure is comparable to the 2022 season when 9,084 nests were protected, over 1,032,975 eggs were safeguarded, and 978,073 hatchlings were released. However, both years saw fewer nests than in 2023, when 11,331 nests were found, over 1,282,839 eggs were safeguarded, and more than 1,205,170 hatchlings were released.

The municipal Director of Ecology, Fernando Haro, explained that sea turtle nesting cycles typically have a high year followed by a lower one. Although 2024 was a lower season, it was still successful. Haro noted, "We must remember that due to the turtles' biological processes, there are always peaks. We are currently in a low season, but within this low season, we are high, not as much as last year, but we are indeed high."

It's worth noting that the survival rate between safeguarded eggs and released turtles was high in 2024, at around 97.13 percent. This rate surpasses the rates of 2022 and 2023, which were about 94 percent. Haro also mentioned the impact of weather phenomena on turtle nesting, as beach erosion can prevent turtles from nesting. However, he emphasized that Benito Juárez is less susceptible to these situations.

This year, four species of turtle visited the Cancun beaches. For the white turtle, 7,346 nests were found with 969,240 eggs and 942,441 hatchlings. For the loggerhead turtle, there were 71 nests with 7,777 eggs and 7,316 hatchlings. For the hawksbill turtle, 11 nests were found with 1,144 eggs and 1,060 hatchlings. And for the leatherback turtle, one nest was protected with 56 eggs.