The president, Margalida Prohens, together with the councillor Joan Simonet, took part in the release of the turtles into their natural habitat, which took place simultaneously on the beaches of Can Pere Antoni, in Palma, and Cala Millor.

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The Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Natural Environment releases 68 sea turtles

The Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Environment, taking advantage of World Environment Day, released a total of 68 sea turtles (Caretta caretta) born during the summer of 2023 in Mallorca into the sea on Wednesday. The president of the Government, Margalida Prohens, accompanied by the councillor Joan Simonet, took part in the release of 23 of this species on the beach of Can Pere Antoni, in Palma, from the nest that was detected in this same area on 7 June. In addition, 45 turtles were released simultaneously in Cala Millor. In this case, they are specimens from the nest that took place on the 9th of July 2023 on this beach.

During the release ceremony, the President of the Govern thanked ‘the work done by all the professionals over the last year’ and also stressed the ‘importance of raising public awareness of the protection of the marine environment and the natural environment’.

‘As a result of climate change, the fact that turtles come to lay on our beaches will become commonplace, they are here to stay, and therefore it will be essential for the public to be aware of how to act if they find a nesting turtle or turtle eggs, so that they can follow the same process as those we are releasing into their habitat today, which is the sea,’ he said.

For his part, Councillor Simonet reminded the public that it is important for them to be aware that these sea turtle nesting episodes are likely to continue to be repeated over the next few years along the coasts of the Balearic Islands. “At present, we are observing that these specimens are moving to areas where years ago it was almost unthinkable that they could reach. The effects of climate change have meant that the behaviour of this protected species has changed, as these types of turtles never used to lay their eggs in our archipelago”.

In this sense, Simonet has called for ‘maximum cooperation from the entire population’, as it is vital for the species, between the months of May and October, the early detection of nests, nesting females or hatchlings hatching on the beach. ‘In the event of detecting any of these cases, 112 should be notified immediately to activate the care protocol,’ said the councillor.

In addition to Prohens and Simonet, the release that took place on the beach of Can Pere Antoni was also attended by the second deputy mayor of Palma City Council, Lourdes Roca; the president of the Natura Parc Foundation, Toni Mas; staff from the Consortium for the Recovery of the Fauna of the Balearic Islands (COFIB) and the Palma Aquarium Foundation; the TragsaTec Protected Marine Areas team; environmental agents; representatives of the Cabrera National Park Visitors Centre and IRFAP-LIMIA, as well as the team of volunteers who helped with the release; the TragsaTec Marine Protected Areas team; environmental agents; representatives of the Cabrera National Park Visitor Centre and IRFAP-LIMIA, as well as the team of volunteers who guarded the nest when the hatchlings were born.

On the other hand, on the beach of Cala Millor, the general director of Natural Environment and Forest Management, Anna Torres, the mayor of Sant Llorenç, Jaume Soler, the manager of COFIB, Lluís Parpal, and also volunteers and staff of all the aforementioned entities were present.