La San Amaro Beach This Sunday, around 11:00 a.m., the Center for Marine Animal Studies and Conservation released two loggerhead turtles. The event, open to the public, combined release and environmental education for the little ones and added, on the fly, a plastic collection when abundant waste was detected in the sand.
The specimens, a male and a female Caretta caretta, returned to the ocean after spending a period of care at CECAM facilities. One had been there for about a month and the other for just over a month and a half, during which time the work focused on reversing the forced buoyancy caused by the ingestion of waste.
A release with an educational focus
Before the release, CECAM volunteers gave the children a simple explanation on how to distinguish sea ​​and land turtles, its biology and the laying cycle. The talk focused on the impact of waste in the sea, with special attention to plastic, a problem that It directly affects turtles that cross the Strait.
The high presence of containers and bags on the sand led to the organization of a improvised plastic collectionFamilies, swimmers, and curious onlookers joined in, turning the event into a day of citizen participation in which the children, very attentive and eager to help, were protagonists.
Recovery and care protocol
The turtles arrived at the center thanks to a warning network that involves Almadraba divers, the Civil Guard's GEAS teams, and private individuals with boats. When a specimen in distress is found, the protocol is quickly activated to ensure its transfer and initial assessment.
The first step was to immerse them in sweet water to remove algae and organisms attached to the shell, which add weight and aggravate the weakening. It was then checked for state of buoyancy, a key indicator: if they remain afloat unchecked, it is usually due to the accumulation of plastics in the digestive tract.
Once stabilized, they moved to tanks of saltwater to resume eating and regain tone. Over time, they were naturally expelled plastic scraps, a development that allowed for their release. In this case, one turtle remained under observation for about a month, and the other for just over six weeks.
The plastic, which they mistake for food, cannot be expelled through vomiting due to the anatomical characteristics of the species. This causes persistent swelling and floating, limiting basic functions such as feeding, resting or reproducing, and exposing them to sunburn and the risk of collision with fast vessels.
Citizen participation and pending challenges
The response on the beach was numerous, with dozens of people accompanying the female and then the male as they headed back to the sea. Amidst applause, the team emphasized the importance of not leaving behind any waste: caps, bottles and bags They are a direct danger to marine fauna.
CECAM insists that awareness is advancing among children, while among adults there is still a way to goReducing the consumption of single-use plastics and ensuring their correct disposal in containers is a simple gesture that, when added together, Mark the difference on the Ceuta coast and in the Strait.
This weekend's experience demonstrates once again that collaboration between volunteers, security forces and citizens It is crucial for conservation. With educational activities and environmental cleanup, the objective is clear: that episodes like San Amaro become more frequent and that fewer turtles come ashore because of pollution.
Two loggerhead turtles have been able to return to their environment thanks to a coordinated rescue and recovery effort, one educational day which put the focus on the plastic problem and a social involvement at the height, in line with increases in nesting and releasesThe Strait, a habitual passage of the species, remembers with these gestures that keep beaches free of waste It is a collective and urgent task.
