Sargassum Kills Dozens of Loggerhead Hatchlings

Loggerhead sea turtles are protected by law in Belize, but last week, one threat slipped past those protections. Dozens of hatchlings were found dead along a private beach on Ambergris Caye, trapped in thick mats of sargassum before they could reach the sea. The discovery was made by Joshua Seguro on property owned by Scott and Maria Sussman, who say they were heartbroken by what they saw. Now, they are calling for more attention to how sargassum is affecting vulnerable marine life, especially during turtle nesting season. News Five spoke with Seguro and the Sussmans about the discovery and what they believe can be done to help protect these endangered hatchlings.

 

Joshua Seguro, Employee, Ambergris

“While on the beach I looked down at my feet and saw a bunch of baby turtles hatchlings. I immediately identified them as logger heads and I said oh no, these are dead, we have to contact the Fisheries Department and I came out to tell the others, guys we have a bunch of dead turtles on the beach currently. From our observation it appeared to be an entire clutch that passed away. We counted up to fifty-two and it could be more. So I am fully convinced it is the sargassum that killed them.”

 

Maria Sussman, Property Owner, Ambergris Caye

“We all rushed to the beach but they were all dead and we wanted to see what happened and first we saw very closer to the beach about seventeen turtles then we started walking further on our pier and from the both sides of the pier we started seeing more and more dead turtles stuck in the sargassum.”

 

Scott Sussman, Property Owner, Ambergris Caye

“I think it is a tragedy. Like Josh said this is something we happened to find and a neighbor happened to find in another instance a mile down the beach. So, who knows how often this is happening and where. This is just two people who saw this. All these uninhabited islands and everywhere else, it could be hundreds of turtles dying every month during the hatching season. what I think can be done id for the Belizean government to step in and really control.”

 

Anyone who finds dead loggerhead hatchlings or sees turtles in distress along the beach is being urged to contact the Fisheries Department immediately.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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