Sunset World Protects Sea Turtles Along the Beaches of Cancun

This summer, Sunset World Resorts & Vacation Experiences is working to protect 11 thousand baby sea turtles.

Each year, loggerhead, hawksbill, and green sea turtles visit the beaches of Sunset World Resorts to lay their eggs. Sunset World has taken the responsibility to protect the turtles that nest along their properties.

This year, Sunset World Entertainment Director, Arturo Sánchez , lead a group of volunteers to mark and secure each nest. In order to properly protect the eggs, the Sunset World Prevention and Entertainment staff received training on how to move the nests to safe areas and create corrals for hatching. So far, the resort has identified 26 nests holding up to 11 thousand eggs.

The resort’s conservation effort is part of the Sea Turtle Protection Program, a much larger program throughout Mexico. Originally created in Cancun in 1994, the program has since spread to Contoy Island, Isla Mujeres, Cozumel, Holbox, and Playa del Carmen. The Sea Turtle Protection Program helps to ensure the safety of the turtle nests, while educating hotels on the importance of conservation.

Sánchez shared,

“No other country in the world is as fortunate. Four of these species come to the coast of the north of Quintana Roo: Green, loggerhead, hawksbill and leatherback. The beaches in Cancun are very dynamic, there’s lots of hustle and bustle, the noise and lights of the hotels affect nesting, thus in 1994 the Sea Turtle Protection Program was created.”

The sea turtles nest from May-September, so it is expected that more nests will appear throughout the summer. The eggs will then hatch sometime between September and October. The exact hatching date will depend upon a number of factors including turtle species and temperature.

Sánchez continues,

“The laying of eggs always takes place during the night, thus after sunset sunbeds and Balinese beds are moved away and the lamps that light up part of the beach are turned off; later on, ballots are filled with the time the turtle came out from the sea, the date, the species and the number of eggs in each nest. Afterwards the eggs are transplanted from the nests to the hatching corrals that have been prepared with all the care needed for their protection.”

Stay tuned to The Timeshare Authority blog to hear more about Sunset World’s turtle nests as we reach their hatch date.