In order to continue the education on proper conservation methods Hol Chan Marine Reserve invited Mayor Gualberto "Wally" Nunez to a turtle nesting site north of the island to witness first hand the impact we as humans have on these nesting grounds.

Constant golf cart traffic over nests to the amount of garbage left behind over the weekends greatly affect young turtles emerging from the sand .

The Hol Chan Marine Reserve, along with the support of the San Pedro Town Council will be enforcing strict measures to ensure less disturbances in the area. We commend the Hol Chan Marine reserve team for all their hard work.

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SPTC teams up with Hol Chan to protect turtle nesting areas in north Ambergris Caye

The 2021 turtle nesting season is underway in northern Ambergris Caye. Every year, environmental groups like the Hol Chan Marine Reserve (HCMR) educate the public on proper conservation methods to protect the few nesting sites on that part of the island. The challenge is the vehicular traffic on and around these areas and garbage left behind by visitors. With the support of the San Pedro Town Council, HCMR is looking to enforce strict measures to ensure less disturbance in the vicinity.

Hol Chan invited Mayor Gualberto 'Wally' Nu�ez to one of these areas where he witnessed first-hand the impact of human activity on these critical turtle nesting grounds. The constant golf cart traffic over the turtle nests and the amount of garbage left behind over the weekends are tolling young hatchlings. Mayor Nu�ez said that he saw the need to help the baby turtles by digging up a nest. The surface of the nest becomes compacted by vehicular traffic. The turtle eggs were extracted from the nest as it would be impossible for the hatchlings to emerge from the cemented sand. Nu�ez said they are planning to install barriers in the area to prevent vehicular traffic. He asked people to cooperate and report to Hol Chan or the San Pedro Town Council anyone removing the barricades. In the past, island residents have conducted beach clean-ups in the area, raised awareness about the turtles, and even assisted in placing signage to alert people of the nesting areas. These, however, are continually disregarded, and people remain littering the area. According to a resident, they had placed an enormous log to block the way leading to an area with many turtle nests, but it was removed.

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