Akumal Closes Turtle Nesting Season With 922 Nests, Below Recent Record

Akumal, Quintana Roo — The sea turtle nesting season in Akumal closed in September with 922 nests, a figure below the totals recorded in each of the previous two years and enough to classify the period as a medium-high season, according to Héctor Lizárraga Cubedo, director of the Akumal Ecological Center (CEA).

Although officials initially expected a high season, the final numbers show a decline from the area’s historic record of 1,350 nests.

Green Turtles Dominate the Count

Of the nests registered through September, 747 belonged to green turtles and 175 to loggerhead turtles.

For green turtles, Bahía Akumal concentrated the largest number of nests with 345, followed by Playa Tortuga with 261, Akumal Sur with 129 and Bahía Media Luna with 12.

For loggerheads, Playa Tortuga saw the most activity with 78 nests, followed by Bahía Akumal with 55, Akumal Sur with 28 and Bahía Media Luna with 14.

Moon Palace Program Reports 2,175 Nests

Separately, the Integral Sea Turtle Conservation Program run by Moon Palace reported 2,175 nests as of the end of August, representing 249,479 eggs.

As part of its conservation work, the program said it released 40,257 sea turtle hatchlings of the green, loggerhead and hawksbill species at the turtle camps in Cancún and Tamul operated by the Palace Foundation.