Cuba Preserves Nesting Areas of Sea Turtles

Ciego de Ávila, Cuba Aug 13 .- Conducting monitoring in nesting areas of sea turtles are among the actions performed in the Cuban Keys National Park Jardines de la Reina, to preserve the species.

Experts for the Protection of Flora and Fauna and Ecosystems Research Center of Cayo Coco work in 15 beaches in the region, a nesting area of the three species of turtles that inhabit the area.

Juan Carlos Pina, a specialist in Ciego de Avila,member of the national team Cuban Sea Turtle Program, highlighted to Prensa Latina that the main thing is to protect the nests during the months from May to September, the breeding period.

He pointed out that the nests are marked and constantly observed until hatching to care for newborns from predators.

At Ana Maria Keys arrive large amounts hawksbill, green and loggerhead turtles, both young and adult animals, due to the abundance of food and for being a site distant from the coast and little frequented by man.

Jardines de la Reina is considered one of the largest nesting sites of hawksbill in the Caribbean, but the main population of sea turtles is in Guanacabibes, Pinar del Rio Province

The southern keys of the central region of Cuba is subject to a conservation project sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), because it has important marine and terrestrial natural resources.

Jardines de la Reina has more than 100 square kilometers in the territories of Camaguey, Ciego de Avila and Sancti Spiritus and is distinguished by the good condition of coral reefs, the high productivity of mangroves and seagrasses.
(Prensa Latina)