This summer’s campaign will include night patrols of volunteers. Credit: Ayuntamiento Denia
The nesting and egg-laying season for turtles has just begun, and with it, the Denia City Council, in collaboration with the Eucrante association, is launching its annual volunteer campaign for the months of June and July.
On 18 June 2023, Denia made headlines when the first turtle nest of the year on the entire Valencian coast was discovered on one of its beaches. Before that year, only ten other nests had ever been recorded. In 2023, that would not be the only nest found in Denia—two more were located later in the season. Today, the capital of the Marina Alta region is the Valencian municipality with the highest number of loggerhead turtle nests, with six in total.
Female loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) come ashore at night during the summer to lay their eggs on beaches—precisely when tourist activity peaks and the coastline sees the highest footfall. This makes monitoring all the more essential. Each morning, heavy machinery is used to prepare the beaches, which, while necessary, poses a clear risk to any buried turtle nests.
For the first time, this summer’s campaign will include night patrols of volunteers, organised into groups to search for nests or any signs that a turtle has come ashore to lay eggs.
These patrols will be guided by a trained technician. The beaches will be divided into sections, and volunteers will walk them in search of turtle tracks or sightings of females entering or leaving the sea. Spotting a nesting female in time would allow for proper monitoring and protection of the nest, directly contributing to the conservation of the species.
Scientists believe this could be a particularly good year for turtle nesting along the coastline, according to Toni Martínez, head of Denia’s marine surveillance service. “There was already a nesting event yesterday in the Ebro Delta, and we’re hoping to have good news here soon,” he said.
About the loggerhead turtle
The loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) is a threatened species that is especially common along the Mediterranean coast, including the Spanish mainland. It can grow to a shell length of up to 120 cm and weigh as much as 200 kg. It is characterised by a large head with a powerful beak and neck, and it has two pairs of prefrontal scales on its head.
Twelve young turtles return to the sea
On Sunday 8 June, twelve turtles born last summer on Denia’s coastline were released into the sea at Punta del Raset beach. The nest from which they hatched had been found on Marineta Cassiana beach. The release event was organised by the Oceanogràfic of València, with support from Eucrante.
How to become a volunteer
Anyone wishing to join the volunteer campaign, which runs from 2 June to 26 July, can sign up via the Eucrante website at this link.
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