Environmental agencies in Puerto Rico are investigating the destruction of 99 eggs of the endangered leatherback turtle that were found in a nest on a beach in San Juan, activist Deborah Feliciano told EFE Friday.
Feliciano, a member of the government-sponsored 7 Quillas group that is charged with keeping watch on the beaches of Condado and Ocean Park, found that the eggs were rotten, the nest was inundated with water, and there was a distinct smell of excrement in the air.
She said the group reported the situation to Puerto Rico's Natural Resources Department, or DRNA, and to the Board of Environmental Quality.
The spokeswoman for 7 Quillas, the DRNA unit that protects sea turtles on the island, said the San Juan municipality also made tests Friday in the sewage system at Condado Beach to find out how the contaminated water was able to flood the nest.
She also said that DRNA marine biologist Carlos Diez found that the eggs contained undeveloped embryos.
"There were no turtles in the development stage, which for us is very odd," Feliciano said, while expressing her concern about the crowds of people on the beach where the nest was located.
In this hatching season, 1,125 leatherbacks have been released on the beaches of Ocean Park and Condado, and three nests still remain.
This year a total of 28 nests have been reported in the area, a figure considerably higher than in other years.
Feliciano also expressed her concern for the great quantities of seaweed on the beaches of Puerto Rico, which have affected the hatching process in a nest on Condado Beach and impeded the arrival of other leatherbacks on the coast.
"The seaweed affected us for two or three weeks. We found turtles tangled up in it, but with the help of the DRNA we managed to clean the area every day," she said. EFE
Authorities investigate destruction of turtle eggs on Puerto Rico beach
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