Spain is experiencing a historic increase in sea turtle nesting sites along its Mediterranean coasts, particularly of the Caretta caretta species. This was noted by 43 experts who gathered in Valencia for the III Workshop on Sea Turtle Nesting Sites.
According to a statement from Xaloc Mar, the meeting, organized by the NGO in collaboration with the Ministry of the Environment, Infrastructure and Territory and the Valencia City Council, aimed to strengthen inter-institutional cooperation and define new strategies for conservation, nest management, and awareness-raising.
In their statement, the experts emphasize the need to create operational structures adapted to the foreseeable increase in nesting. This includes suggestions such as technical training for staff, the involvement of coastal communities, and the improvement of coordination and data collection systems through citizen science platforms.
The positive results of communication campaigns, often supported by volunteer groups, were identified as crucial for raising social awareness. For this reason, the various autonomous communities where sea turtles nest will launch campaigns for best practices in the event of a nesting incident, raising public awareness of the 112 emergency call protocol.
The information campaigns also include Xaloc Mar’s “Turtle Alert 2025,” which will begin this May, coinciding with the start of the sea turtles’ nesting season, after ten consecutive years.
During the Third Workshop on Sea Turtle Nesting, the importance of stable funding to ensure the continuity of monitoring programs, such as satellite tagging and the headstarting technique—an early captive breeding technique aimed at increasing the survival of hatched turtles—was also highlighted.
