Turtle Camp

Things You Can do for Sea Turtle Protection!

While snorkeling or diving:

• Please observe but don't touch the Turtles! It is illegal to touch them in Akumal. So please respect the turtles eating in the bay.

• Try not to disturb their feeding behavior.

• Be careful not to damage the delicate corals. They are alive and are the basic life source of the ecosystem in Akumal. If you stand up on them or touch them they die and it takes them forever to regenerate.

What should you do if you see a turtle nesting on the beach?

• Move slowly and do not approach it.

• If you must use a flashlight when walking on the beach, try not to leave it on very long and use a red or amber filter.

• Turn off any lights that may disorient turtles.

• No flash photography. The bright light scares them away.
  

• No beach fires.

• Report you observations to CEA.

• Mark the nest and inform CEA.
  

• Do not move or tamper with nests. It's illegal.
  

What should you do if you see hatchlings emerging from a nest?

• Turn off any lights that FACE the beach. They're guided by the reflexion of light on the water, or the contrast in the horizon so if you have lights heading towards a hotel or villa, they will end up in the pool and die.
  

• Make sure the hatchling reach the sea.

• Do not capture them, nor release them directly into the sea. Help them find their own way to the water (by lighting the water with a red filter flashlight).
  

Remember you can make a difference.
Join us in protecting them!

Your cooperation is very important to prevent extinction.