Are sea turtle hatcheries ethical?
Many of our trips include the opportunity to observe nesting or hatching sea turtles, either as part of a vacation or as a volunteer placement. Well-managed tourism like this contributes to the conservation of sea turtles – six out of the seven species of which are classified as vulnerable or endangered.
However, for sea turtle conservation programmes to be successful, strict guidelines must be followed. There must be no interference in the nesting process, and numbers of tourists and/or volunteers must be tightly controlled to avoid distressing the turtles.
In some cases, there is a lot more human involvement in the nesting and hatching process. The eggs may be removed from the nest and placed in ‘hatcheries’, either in artificial nests or reburied in protected parts of the beach. Hatchlings may be assisted by volunteers once they emerge or held back for later release. In more extreme cases, the hatchlings are kept in tanks.
Unfortunately, while these hatcheries and tanks have usually been established with the best intentions, they are not always beneficial to the sea turtles.
However, for sea turtle conservation programmes to be successful, strict guidelines must be followed. There must be no interference in the nesting process, and numbers of tourists and/or volunteers must be tightly controlled to avoid distressing the turtles.
In some cases, there is a lot more human involvement in the nesting and hatching process. The eggs may be removed from the nest and placed in ‘hatcheries’, either in artificial nests or reburied in protected parts of the beach. Hatchlings may be assisted by volunteers once they emerge or held back for later release. In more extreme cases, the hatchlings are kept in tanks.
Unfortunately, while these hatcheries and tanks have usually been established with the best intentions, they are not always beneficial to the sea turtles.
What are the problems with turtle hatcheries?
Monitoring success
Turtle hatcheries are not sanctuaries, zoos, rescue or rehabilitation centers. They are used – or should be used – only when natural nesting conditions are threatened, such as by flooding, erosion, predation or heavy poaching.Success rates are extremely difficult to monitor, as once hatched, the young turtles disappear into the open ocean for up to a decade, and take between 10 and 50 years to reach maturity, depending on the species. This means that issues such as ill health, disease, or of the gender of the turtles (the sex is determined by the temperature of the incubating eggs) may not become apparent until they return to nest – or not – in many years’ time.
‘Imprinting’
Another issue is the ‘imprinting’ of the location of the beach in the turtles’ memories. Female turtles lay their eggs on the same beach where they hatched. Any interference in their initial journey to the sea can disrupt this imprinting process and affect their nesting habits far into the future.Encouraging poaching
There is another issue, too, which in recent years has particularly affected some hatcheries in Sri Lanka. As one of the biggest threats to sea turtles there is the stealing of eggs, some hatcheries have started buying eggs from poachers. While this has undoubtedly saved many eggs from ending up on plates, there are concerns that this has now created a market for the eggs, as poachers take more and more, in the knowledge that they will be paid for them by the hatcheries.Lack of knowledge
Of course, there will be some unscrupulous hatcheries set up to take advantage of paying tourists and volunteers. But there are many others run by well-meaning communities and individuals – often volunteers themselves – which are in fact damaging the turtles’ chances of survival due to a lack of knowledge about their life cycles and biology. Handling eggs, using tanks, incubating eggs at the incorrect temperature, nests dug at the wrong depth and sand being too wet or too dry can all impact the success rates of the hatcheries. In some cases, this means that success rates are lower than if the eggs had been left in situ.
Potential problems from a lack of knowledge include…
Potential problems from a lack of knowledge include…
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When should turtle hatcheries be used?
A hatchery should never be established as the main method of conservation. It should be a last resort – and even then, it should be used alongside other conservation measures. Hatcheries require extensive labour and funds to be successful and are not a long term solution. Beach patrols, clear demarcation of nests and protective fencing are better options, if possible.
And of course, if poaching is the key issue, education, campaigning and creating other sources of income for local people are essential to ensure the turtles’ long-term survival.
And of course, if poaching is the key issue, education, campaigning and creating other sources of income for local people are essential to ensure the turtles’ long-term survival.
Which sea turtle hatcheries do we promote?
Ideally, we would prefer to promote sea turtle conservation programmes that preserve eggs in situ and promote the protection of habitats. In the case that a hatchery must be used, we will only promote it if the following conditions are met:
Which sea turtle hatcheries do we not promote?
We do not promote any hatcheries that use tanks to house hatchlings (tanks for rescued adult turtles is a separate issue). There is little evidence that tanks improve the survival rates of hatchlings, as the risk of disease transmission is high, and deformities and even cannibalism have been documented. Those hatchlings that do survive in tanks may pass on diseases to wild turtles once released. Another concern is the imprinting process, as it is believed that this is unlikely to occur if the turtles’ journey to the sea is delayed by days or weeks.
The practise of farming sea turtles for human consumption is, thankfully, almost entirely over. Turtles are eaten in the Cayman Islands, and the Cayman Turtle Centre there has faced controversy for farming in the past. We would absolutely not advocate visiting or working for any organisation that farms turtles for their meat.
The practise of farming sea turtles for human consumption is, thankfully, almost entirely over. Turtles are eaten in the Cayman Islands, and the Cayman Turtle Centre there has faced controversy for farming in the past. We would absolutely not advocate visiting or working for any organisation that farms turtles for their meat.