Turtle Season In Numbers…
The 2021-2022 Hawskbill nesting season was officially over by March 2022. It was, again, a very successful season with a total of 285 Hawksbill Turtle nests laid. The last 25 nests of the season hatched in April and May.
- We spotted 56 different tagged turtles and tagged or retagged 27 of them.
- 17 nests had to be translocated in order for them to not get washed away.
- We collected DNA samples from 42 different samples.
- 51.9% of turtle emergences resulted in nesting.
- The average number of eggs laid by a turtle was 162.
As you can imagine, it is really hard to choose a favorite beach on Fregate Island… If turtles could vote, Grand Anse would definitely be their favorite beach to nest. The table below shows that out of 285 nests that we found, 225 were laid on Grand Anse. This is another reason why many of our guests wisely choose Grand Anse for sunset drinks on the beach. The Turtle Champion this year was our well known SCA6746/SCA6745 who was sighted 6 times and successfully laid a nest each time with no failed emergences. She must feel very comfortable on our island. This returning guest has last been spotted in 2012, so probably she is a more experienced turtle that finds it easier to find a good nesting spot.