Turtle Monitoring and Protection

Looking back at Seychelles’ history you will find that turtles were largely exploited. Turtle meat was used in local dishes and their carapace was used to fashion jewellery and other trinkets. As these creatures began to decline in numbers, turtle monitoring and protection became increasingly important.

Bird Island’s Turtle Project started back in 1995 in an effort to protect these gentle reptiles. This was shortly after the Green Turtle and Hawksill Turtle became legally protected in the Seychelles. Over 350 Hawksbill and Green Turtles are now tagged and recorded as they visit the island and this data is fed to the Seychelles-wide turtle monitoring project.

We are actively involved in measuring, tagging and recording turtle statistics, as well as monitoring and protecting turtle nesting sites, critical to the survival of these endangered species.

Today, we are known for having one of the largest populations of nesting Hawksbill Turtles in the Seychelles.

Learn more about the types of sea turtles that nest on Bird island Seychelles here.

Good to know:

Among the many tasks carried out on the island, one involves turtle hatchlings. Only where absolutely required, turtle eggs are rescued from vulnerable nests and are kept safe until their hatching period where they are then released to the sea. Guests may experience seeing one of mother nature’s most amazing creations, as a nest of over 100 tiny turtles hatch and begin their life or death race down the beach to the water’s edge. This is a sight that will remain with you forever.