According to the Community Organization for Fisheries Resources Protection in Nhon Hai Commune, Quy Nhon City (Binh Dinh), at around 10:30 PM on June 2, a green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) – a species classified as “endangered” by the IUCN and listed in Appendix I of the CITES Convention on international trade regulations – came ashore in front of the residential area of Nhon Hai fishing village to lay 102 eggs.
This sea turtle measured 0.94 meters in length and 0.86 meters in width, weighing over 90 kg, which is similar to the size of a previous turtle that laid eggs on the night of May 21.
According to the Community Organization for Fisheries Resources Protection, it is highly likely that this turtle has returned to lay eggs for the second time. To facilitate monitoring and protection, the local organization has tagged the turtle with the identification number VN1078.
Curious local residents watching the turtle lay eggs. (Photo: TCCĐ).
This time the turtle laid 102 eggs.
Mr. Nguyen Ton Xuan Sang, who assisted the turtle during its nesting, shared that upon hearing about the turtle coming ashore to lay eggs, he returned home to get a basin and tools before heading back to the beach. The turtle laid eggs just 1.5 meters from the water’s edge, so Mr. Sang and members of the Community Organization for Fisheries Resources Protection moved the nest 500 meters away to a safer nesting area, located 70 meters from the high tide line, to ensure the safety of the eggs.
According to Mr. Chu The Cuong, a marine turtle conservation expert from IUCN, the continuous nesting of sea turtles in front of the residential area in Nhon Hai is a positive sign for biodiversity conservation efforts in the locality (as the presence of sea turtles indicates a healthy ecosystem). However, the gathering of large crowds while the turtles are nesting is not advisable.
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Nam, Vice Chairman of the Nhon Hai Commune People’s Committee, stated that in the future, the locality will assign a monitoring team, and if turtles come to any area, they will encourage residents to vacate that area to allow the turtles to nest safely.
