Sea turtle hatcheries are a popular conservation strategy across the world, easily recognised as fenced enclosures on turtle nesting beaches.

These enclosures house turtle eggs, relocated from natural nests on the beach, to a more controlled environment that protects them from various threats. Ideally, a hatchery would produce more hatchlings than a natural nest.

However, relocating sea turtle eggs is more complex than it seems, with hatchery management being an intensive practice.

"When we move eggs, we risk jostling the embryos inside. There's a very narrow window to move eggs safely, ideally within two hours of being laid," explains Dr. Andrea Phillott, a Sea Turtle Biologist from Australia and Professor of Environmental Studies at Flame University, India.

And that’s just the beginning!

In this fourth episode of Sea Turtle Stories, Dr Andrea takes us through the careful considerations in building and running a hatchery, from creating the perfect artificial nest, paying attention to its depth, shape, temperature, and distance from other nests, to assessing even the sand quality.

While Dr. Andrea is widely published on various aspects of sea turtle conservation, her most recent research focuses on hatchery management practices in South Asia, making her the ideal expert for this discussion on hatcheries.

So join our Host, Dr. Minnie, and Guest Speaker, Dr. Andrea, as they delve into the intricacies of hatchery management and address critical issues, such as the efficacy of hatcheries, their role in a changing climate, protocol on hatchling releases, and more.

Links For Additional Reading:

• Kale, N., & Phillott, A. D. (2018). The use of sea turtle hatcheries as an ex situ conservation strategy in India. Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter.
• Phillott, A. D. (2020). Protection of in situ sea turtle nests from depredation. Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter.
• Phillott, A. D., & Shanker, K. (2018). Best practices in sea turtle hatchery management for South Asia. Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter.
• Sarmiento-Ramírez, J. M., Abella-Pérez, E., Phillott, A. D., Sim, J., van West, P., Martín, M. P., Marco, A., & Diéguez-Uribeondo, J. (2014). Global distribution of two fungal pathogens threatening endangered sea turtles. Plos One.
• Afeef, I. (2021). Best practices for sea turtle hatching events.Olive Ridley Project.

We would love to hear your questions, comments or suggestions about the podcast. Email us at: seaturtlestories@oliveridleyproject.org

To support Olive Ridley Project’s work in sea turtle conservation, you can, Name and Adopt a wild sea turtle, Adopt a turtle patient or Donate here: https://oliveridleyproject.org/donate

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Credits:

The Sea Turtle Stories podcast is presented by Olive Ridley Project

The host for the podcast series is Dr Minnie Liddell

The podcast is edited, mixed and mastered by Dev Ramkumar

The podcast series is produced and researched by Anadya Singh