Jessica Castro-Prieto and her team recently completed the nesting reporting for the 2021 nesting season which extends from April to July. 1,545 leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) nests were reported, with the municipalities of Dorado, Añasco, Maunabo, Luquillo, and Arecibo accounting for 70 percent of the total nesting activity in the island.

In addition, restoration activities to reduce threats have been conducted in the most important nesting beaches. A 3-mile exclusion fence in Mona Island was completed in June. This exclusion fence impedes wild boars from reaching the nesting beach and preying on sea turtle eggs. Approximately 650 coastal plants that were grown in our greenhouse were used to reforest nesting beaches. Trees and shrubs are being planted to reduce light pollution and coastal erosion, and as natural barricades along wood fences that are also constructed by our project to prevent turtles’ roadkill and beach driving. Regulation signs and outreach signs were installed in several nesting beaches. Twenty properties received lighting retrofits replacing white lights by turtle-friendly lights.