Palma, June 8 (EFE).- The Can Pere Antoni beach in Palma is the scene of the first recorded spawning of a sea turtle (Caretta caretta) in Mallorca, the Ministry of the Environment and Territory reported this Thursday.
The nest, sighted this past dawn by a citizen, has been cordoned off to guarantee their safety and contains 106 eggs.
The acting Minister for the Environment and Territory, Miquel Mir, has announced that the Species Protection Service and the Consortium for the Recovery of the Fauna of the Balearic Islands (COFIB) have confirmed this past dawn the first laying of turtle eggs marine never registered in the island of Majorca.
Mir explained that the nest contains 106 eggs, of which 26 have already been transferred to the Marine Research and Aquaculture Laboratory (LIMIA) of the Ministry of Agriculture, where they will be treated with artificial incubation to increase hatching guarantees.
The other 80 will remain in the nest for the moment, which has been surrounded by environmental agents until the technicians certify their viability during the incubation period, between 45 and 60 days.
The minister has highlighted that this nest has been detected thanks to a citizen’s notice last midnight, which has enabled the technical protocol that has quantified the number of eggs to be activated.
In this sense, Mir has insisted on the need that in case a turtle is seen on a beach, “no one” should touch it or come closer than 15 meters.
From the COFIB it is indicated that it is not necessary to photograph it with a flash and that 112 must be called immediately so that the action protocol can be put into operation.
In addition, “maximum caution and prudence” is requested when advertising this type of event through social networks to guarantee that the work of specialists is carried out under the least possible pressure.
Mir has recalled that the caretta caretta is a species classified as vulnerable and, therefore, has demanded the collaboration of all citizens to preserve the nest.
He also explained that it is a species that usually reproduces in the eastern Mediterranean and that it was not until the beginning of the 21st century that it began to nest in the western Mediterranean, most likely due to the increase in sea temperature. “Therefore, it is a new environmental challenge that comes to us due to the climate emergency that we are suffering,” he added.
The COFIB coordinator of marine fauna, Guiem Félix, has commented that right now it is the breeding season for this species and, therefore, it is likely that more nesting attempts will be recorded, either by this same specimen or by others.
In fact, the case of the Can Pere Antoni beach is the first nesting episode recorded this year at the state level and, in this sense, given the probability of new attempts, it is necessary to notify 112 immediately, not disturb the animal and avoid that the laying is unsuccessful.