It is World Sea Turtle Day and the last day of Sea Turtle Week and we have compiled all the sea turtle related videos and photos that we shared since World Oceans Day on June 8th. You may have missed one or two videos or simply want to watch them again. Remember to share the love and support for the conservation of these endangered sea creatures.

Sea turtles and their behaviour with other sea life

Flippa is a green sea turtle who we meet in the St Eustatius National Marine Park one day. Her sergeant major friends swim in a school above her. They will eat any epiflora, such as turf algae, growing on her.

How sea turtles breathe and interact with their habitat

Sea turtles cannot breath underwater yet they spend most of their life under the surface of the water. Dangers exit above and below. Let’s do what we can to keep them safe.
After a long day, we value being able to go home to somewhere safe and comfortable. Flippa feels safe in the St Eustatius National Marine Park where we can swim, eat and rest in peace, even with divers nearby. She is relaxed because we do not disturb her and other marine life, especially turtles.

The journey of sea turtle hatchlings

Liam is a leatherback sea turtle who is making his way to sea after hatching from a nest on Zeelandia Beach, Oranjestad, St Eustatius, Dutch Caribbean.

Global Warming has been heating up the sand on beaches across the world. Before, some nests will be hot enough to create females while some are cool enough to create males. Now, most nests are too hot for male hatchlings to develop. ‘Hot Chicks, Cool Dudes’

Liam represents these diminishing male sea turtles. The imbalance spells negative outlooks for the growth of sea turtle populations as they are now more likely to meet another female than a potential mate.
Tini and her hawksbill siblings (mostly or all sisters due to global warming) emerge from their nest at the same time. Climbing out of their nest at the same time is a group effort and making from the nest to the sea as a group means more will survive than if they went one at a time. Each hatching, however, has to use their instincts to navigate their first journey.

STENAPA protects Statia’s sea turtles

Listen to Jessica Berkel, the Marine Park Manager and the Sea Turtle Program Coordinator as she describes the sea turtle conservation program on St Eustatius.
This is Part 1 of the informative video.
Join Jessica Berkel again on World Sea Turtle Day as she completes Part 2 of the Sea Turtle Conservation Program on St Eustatius.

Sand-mining, one of the major threats to sea turtle beaches on Statia

It is sea turtle nesting season and Flippa and other adult female sea turtles are searching for nesting beaches. Less than two months later, hatchlings like Liam and Tini will emerge amongst their siblings to make their way to the great big blue. Sand-mining of these beaches (as seen in the photos) removes nesting areas, and can potential dig up a nest that has yet to emerge.

Such practices are in conflict with international laws that protect turtle beaches. Sand for construction is available on the island for sale. Access of cars to the eastern beaches of St Eustatius has been blocked almost fully as cars can destroy turtle nests. This blockade has lead to few sand-mining incidents and on a smaller scale. Unfortunately, sand-mining has not stopped completely.

Support sea turtles conservation and up-cycling

Pollution of our beaches is another threat to our nesting sea turtle population. Do you remember the bottle that could have trapped Liam, the leatherback hatchling, as he crawled to the sea. You can support the recycling of this waste by ordering Sea Turtle garden path stones for your garden.

Cement and crushed recycled glass is used to create these pieces of art. They are done to order at $15 per path stone. Package deal of 5 stones at $14 each. Proceeds of every purchase goes directly towards the Sea Turtle Conservation Program on St Eustatius (watch the last two videos above).

To order, call: + 599 318 2884

More interesting information

If you listened to Part 2 of our sea turtle conservation you would have heard about satellite tracking of Shellie, Track and a few other sea turtles. Below is a mapping of loggerhead turtles and their desired foraging habitat.