Antara 28 May 16;
Bantul, Yogyakarta (ANTARA News) - Sea turtle nesting season has begun at the southern coast of Yogyakarta this month and will last till this year-end, an observer said here Saturday.
"It has been more than a week that sea turtles are coming to nest," a volunteer of sea turtle conservation of Goa Cemara Beach of Bantul, Subaya, disclosed here on Saturday.
The volunteers have so far found two sea turtle nests, one containing 95 eggs, while the other had 110 eggs.
Those eggs are predicted to hatch in the next 50 days.
However, the number of sea turtle nests found at the Goa Cemara Beach has been diminishing in recent years.
"Last year, we only found 10 nests. In fact, earlier the number used to reach 13 to 28 nests," Subaya pointed out.
The abrasion on the southern coast of Yogyakarta might be the reason behind the diminishing sea turtle nests since some beaches have a steep 45 degree slope, making it difficult for the sea turtle to climb the beach sand to nest.
The hatching season which will last until the end of the year will be a critical time when people can help preserve sea turtles and hatchlings, he observed.
