Guanahacabibes National Park

CariMar collaborates with the Cuban Instituto Superior de Tecnología y Ciencias Aplicadas (INSTEC) on a major green (Chelonia mydas) and loggerhead (Caretta caretta) turtle monitoring project at Guanahacabibes National Park and Biosphere Reserve, located on the western tip of Cuba. Our joint team is now in its 17th year monitoring nesting female green turtles at seven beaches along the Guanahacabibes Peninsula. The project is led by Dr. Julia Azanza Ricardo who leads University of Havana students to conduct nest surveys during every nesting season (April-October). These regular surveys have revealed a critical green turtle nesting population of thousands of animals. In 2013, the project counted almost 900 green turtle nests, doubling any previous annual record. Loggerhead turtle nests are increasing in abundance and in 2016 over a third of the nests have been laid by loggerheads.

Prior to this work, there was no intensive monitoring of sea turtles in this region of Cuba. The project has built strong ties with local schools and residents. With the recruitment of local residents as participants in research, the project has reduced poaching of turtles and their eggs by 80% throughout the national park. The project includes a strong education component to ensure that local communities will carry on this work in the future. 

Beach at Guanahacabibes. Photo: Jay Bitzer

The project has the following objectives:

• Determine the principal sea turtle nesting areas
• Collect data on the sea turtles, nests and eggs
• Examine the existing genetic diversity in the populations of marine turtles that nest in the zone and through tagging, gain better insight into how the sea turtle populations of the Gulf of Mexico are related
• Engender an appreciation of the natural environment and conservation in the local community and among university students participating in the project
• Develop education programs and partnerships with local communities  to engage them in the research and conservation of sea turtles.
• Conduct satellite tagging on these animals to determine their global relevance. In July 2016 we tagged two green sea turtle nesting in Guanahacabibes National Park in collaboration with the Sea Turtle Conservancy: Esperanza and Julia

The green turtle Esperanza has traveled from Guanahacabibes, Cuba (June 29, 2016) to Punta Allen, Mexico (July 11, 2016)

Results from the 2012 satellite tagging of five turtles.

We also conduct international capacity training workshops and fisheries learning exchanges that bring experts from the region to Cuba to teach sea turtle research and monitoring skills and share conservation strategies.           ​

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Cayo Largo 

Cayo Largo is the most important nesting site in Cuba with an average of 2,000 green and loggerhead nests per year on approximately 15 km of beach yet there is no consistent research efforts during the nesting season to document these sea turtle populations. Cayo Largo is also an important tourism site with five all inclusive hotels operating within walking distance of regular active nesting activity, making a sea turtle monitoring program that documents nesting activity and educates tourists especially important. 

In August 2017, sea turtle scientists from Cuba and the U.S. gathered for the 5th International Workshop on Cuban Sea Turtle Research and Conservation in Cayo Largo to conceive a plan to restore regular research efforts during the nesting season, organize satellite tracking efforts on the island and develop a permanent sea turtle rehabilitation program in Cuba to address turtles adversely impacted by incidental bycatch, disease (particularly fibropalliloma tumors) and turtle strandings. In 2018, CariMar collaborated with INSTEC and the University of Havana to conduct the first research expedition to Cayo Largo to initiate the monitoring program.

Volunteers in Guanahacabibes with a loggerhead sea turtle.

Cayo Largo (red dot) is not located in a protected area.