This Saturday, Les Albaranes beach in Denia was the place to say goodbye to the last thirty turtles which were born from nests found last summer in the city of Alicante.
The animals remained this time in the facilities of the Oceanogràfic de Valencia as part of the Foundation’s “Head-starting” growth and development program, whose objective is to ensure that the newborns reach the size, the weight and Sufficient swimming, diving and feeding skills. In this way, the goal is that they can further avoid the natural predators that they face early in their lives.
The release of these turtles had the participation of the general director of Natural and Animal Environment of the Generalitat Valenciana, Luis Gomis; the director of the Oceanogràfic Foundation, Leocadia García-Bartual; the mayor of Dénia, Vicent Grimalt; representatives of the Balearia Foundation, as well as the Fishermen’s Guild of Dénia, the Port of Dénia, technicians from the University of Valencia and volunteers from Eucrate and Xaloc who collaborated in the detection of nests.
This is the largest release of chelonians carried out in the Valencian Community by the Oceanogràfic Foundation, like the four nests recorded on the beaches of Denia last summer.
A year of historic laying
The coasts of the Valencian Community experienced a historic nesting season in 2023, with a total of nine nests detected and the birth of nearly 500 descendants.
A number which far exceeded the records of previous years, where only one or two nests were counted per season.
The year 2024 maintained exceptional figures, with the identification of eight nests on Community beaches. This increase could be linked to the effects of climate change and increased water temperatures, which seems to suggest an expansion of the species towards new nesting areas, such as the coasts of Italy, France and from Spain.
