Turtle Monitoring and Protection
In 1992 BICA started the Turtle Head Start Project. The goal was the protection of endangered sea turtles that come to Utila’s beaches to nest.
Turtle products such as meat and eggs were traditionally part of the local diet and turtle soup was considered a local delicacy. But, as the turtle population was getting dangerously low, it was time to do something before they were gone forever and Utila lost one of its treasures.
The project consisted of identifying nesting areas and nest monitoring. After hatching, the turtles were released immediately, and a small number was kept by the local school children, who adopted them for 3 months and were shown how to take care of them before releasing them to the sea. The project was supported by the Archie Carr Turtle Project, University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, whose students tagged turtles for future monitoring.
BICA is currently trying to revive the project.