Hatchling Release

One of the highlights of late-turtle-season weekends is the release of hundreds of hatchlings back into the ocean. The activity, organised by university-backed CECON, takes place every night in season, but, despite advice to the contrary, keep all the week’s hatchlings during slow season for mass release when more tourists are in town. People can pay to release a hatchling themselves, and if theirs is the first to cross a line drawn in the sand, they win a monetary prize.

At first I was impressed that so many people, both Guatemalan and foreign, came to watch the sunset event, and hoped that it served its educational purpose well. I wasn’t happy that young children were allowed to handle the soft, tiny young turtles, as clearly some weren’t as careful as you should be with an animal that’s just a day or so old and about to embark on an arduous and dangerous first night in the hostile ocean. The people at ARCAS also explained how they performed a study that showed the hatchlings' energy ebbed with every hour they were kept from entering the water; holding them on shore for a few days may provide more entertainment for and money from the tourists, but it was giving the turtles far more precarious chance of survival once released.

Marine researchers estimate that, for every thousand hatchlings, only one will make it to adulthood. That means, of the 32 thousand hatchlings saved and released by ARCAS in 2007, only 300 or so will return eight years later to carry on the cycle. Teams of volunteers scour the beach at night, competing with local parlameros (egg hunters) to be the first to spot and claim a nest. It’s hard work, in hot, humid, and often thunderous and mosquito-filled conditions, but most of the volunteers take the job very seriously, as they are very aware of the importance of ensuring the rescue of as many eggs and release of as many hatchlings as possible.

The CECON group operates a little differently: poorer in regard to volunteer help but richer by far with financial support, CECON mostly buys eggs directly from the parlameros. Once the eggs are in their care, the process is pretty much the same as that of ARCAS.

The eggs are counted and placed in new nests within a walled and sheltered sand pit. Within 45 to 50 days, the hatchlings emerge, are counted, and then they’re released into the ocean—at ARCAS, almost immediately, so as to give them the greatest chance of survival.

As I’m sitting here, Eduardo is checking on the last three nests in the hatchery to see if there is any sign of new life—and new hope for the ever-decreasing turtle populations. With a little luck, we should have some baby olive ridleys to release before I depart this rugged neck of the woods early next week.