Playa del Carmen Logs 2,000 Sea Turtle Nests in 2026 Season

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — The Municipal Committee for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles held its first session of the 2026 season, bringing together officials, hotel representatives and civil society groups to review progress in protecting local nesting grounds.

Officials reported that the current season has registered 2,000 nests of loggerhead, green and hawksbill turtles, together accounting for 91,859 eggs and 22,431 hatchlings.

Of the 2,000 nests, 1,200 were recorded in the stretch monitored by the city government, while the remainder were tracked by private initiatives and civil associations — a division that highlights the importance of joint conservation efforts.

The species breakdown shows 434 loggerhead nests with 22,505 eggs and 10,167 hatchlings; 1,548 green turtle nests with 65,603 eggs and 11,592 hatchlings; and 18 hawksbill nests with 3,751 eggs and 672 hatchlings.

On the education and outreach front, 2,070 people have received training in sea turtle protection, and 2,095 have participated in awareness activities such as environmental fairs, workshops and the “Pinta tu tortuga” (Paint Your Turtle) event. An additional 283 volunteers took part in beach cleanup drives.

Yamilli Colli Cach, the city’s deputy director of environmental education and outreach, said the measures are complemented by preventive steps directed at hotels and residents along the coast. Before the May–October nesting season, the city sends notices to beachfront hotels asking them to remove lounge chairs from nesting areas, control lighting and keep vehicles off the sand. Officials also work with nearby residents to switch off lights that could interfere with the natural orientation of turtles coming ashore.