Mojacar awaits a happy event

VOLUNTEERS have kept watch for six weeks over a nest of turtle eggs discovered on Mojacar’s Granatilla beach.

A beachgoer who discovered the nest by chance in early July advised the 112 Emergency number, which immediately launched the procedures put in place by the Junta’s Sustainable Development department for situations like these.

Once confirmed, experts pronounced the location adequate for the hatchlings’ survival once they emerged from their shells, deciding that it would not be necessary to move the nest.

A group that includes Junta officials, the Guardia Civil’s nature protection unit Seprona, Policia Local officers  and  experts from Almeria University, Spain’s National Research Council (CSIC)  and Doñana are currently coordinating the operation.

Members of the Serbal environmentalist association are present day-round at the spot where the turtle eggs are buried, waiting for them to hatch.

According to regional government, this could happen sooner than expected, owing to the very high temperatures in the area.

Raquel Espin, the Junta’s Sustainable Development delegate to Almeria and Mojacar’s mayor Rosa Marina Cano recently visited the Serbal volunteers, applauding their professionality and generosity in ensuring that the turtles could hatch safely.

Once the hatchlings emerge, Andalucia’s Marine Environment Management Centre (CEGMA), base in Algeciras (Cadiz) will take over until they can be released into the sea.