Leatherback turtles are setting nesting records at St. Croix’s Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge, according to refuge manager Mike Evans.
Since they began laying their eggs in late February, more than 200 turtles have come ashore to nest. Evans said Tuesday this tops the previous record of around 196 a couple of years ago.
While every year is different, Evans said the numbers are gradually increasing thanks to protection efforts at Sandy Point.
This nesting season also set records for the number of turtles laying eggs in one night, with nearly 30 females coming ashore in one night, he said.
The peak of the season is past, and the leatherbacks should stop laying their eggs by the end of July or early August, Evans said. He said the hatchlings are just beginning to emerge.
The leatherbacks lay eggs in an average of five nests per season, but Evans said those nests may be scattered around the region. He said leatherbacks who make several nests at Sandy Point may also lay eggs at points as far as Culebra, Vieques, or at other beaches on St. Croix. They may start nesting at Sandy Point, go off to make nests at other beaches and return later in the season.
This means it’s important to protect turtle nests at all beaches, not just Sandy Point, Evans said. Efforts are being made in that direction, with the Fish and Wildlife Division of the territory’s Planning and Natural Resources Department keeping tabs on turtle nests at Brewers Bay and Lindberg Bay on St. Thomas. One turtle came ashore at each beach over the weekend to lay eggs.
While there are probably many variables that led to this banner year, Evans said that protection for more than 25 years at Sandy Point is a key factor. As for the other reasons, Evans said that no one really knows.
"There are a lot of things about sea turtles’ breeding season that we don’t understand," he said.
Sandy Point closed to visitors in April, and Evans said he expects it will reopen early in September once the hatchlings are on their way out to sea.
He said that most people who planned to use the beach at Sandy Point understand why the beach is closed, but he’s had a couple of people tell him that they didn’t care if the turtle nests were destroyed by beachgoers because they wanted to watch the dolphins at sunset from the beach.
"How do you respond to something like that?" he said.
Unlike alligators and crocodiles, which attack people and animals that threaten their nests, the turtles have no way to defend theirs. Therefore, Evans said, it’s important for people to do the protecting.
To combat the threats to their nests, Evans said the turtles lay as many eggs as possible in multiple nests to ensure that some of the hatchlings survive. And those that do will likely return to Sandy Point to lay their own eggs, what Evans called "the natal homing hypothesis."
