Fundación Azul Marino and Fundación Oceanogràfic return the turtles born in Almassora last year to the sea

• Fundación Azul Marino, Fundación Oceanogràfic and Almassora Town Council released this morning ten loggerhead turtle hatchlings (Caretta caretta) born from the nest found last year on Benafelí beach, as part of the ‘Aquí salvamos tortugas’ campaign
• The turtles are part of the Oceanogràfic’s Head Starting programme, which allowed them to grow in a controlled environment from the 33 grams they weighed on arrival to the 3 kilos with which they return to the sea today
• The event was attended by María Tormo, Mayor of Almassora; Silvana Rovira, Councillor for Beaches; Vicente Blay, Councillor for Education; Pablo García, project director at Fundación Azul Marino; Celia Calabuig and Mercedes Calabuig, president and vice-president respectively of Fundación Oceanogràfic; and students from the UNED Senior University

Oropesa del Mar (Castellón), 3 September 2026. Fundación Azul Marino, Almassora Town Council and Fundación Oceanogràfic released this morning ten loggerhead turtle hatchlings (Caretta caretta) born from the nest found on a Benafelí beach last year, as part of the ‘Aquí salvamos tortugas’ campaign, an initiative of both foundations and Seville Aquarium.

The turtles are part of the Oceanogràfic’s Head Starting programme, which allowed them to grow in a controlled environment until they had passed the most vulnerable stage of their lives. The release is also part of the series of releases of hatchlings born in the nests detected last season in different Castellón municipalities, which will take place throughout September and October.

The event was attended by María Tormo, Mayor of Almassora; Silvana Rovira, Councillor for Beaches; Vicente Blay, Councillor for Education; Pablo García, project director at Fundación Azul Marino; and Celia Calabuig and Mercedes Calabuig, president and vice-president respectively of Fundación Oceanogràfic.

Students from the UNED Senior University also took part, the group invited this year by Almassora Town Council.

“The release of these ten turtles is wonderful news for Almassora and a sign of the enormous environmental value of our coastline. The fact that Benafelí beach is a loggerhead nesting area shows the quality of our natural environment and reminds us that our beaches are a habitat we must protect and conserve,” said María Tormo.

Celia Calabuig, for her part, wished to “thank Almassora for hosting us once again and for throwing itself into this initiative. We have been releasing turtles on its beaches for three years now, and on every occasion we have had the cooperation and involvement of the whole community”.

A nest that triggered the protocol

The ‘Aquí salvamos tortugas’ campaign has now run for six consecutive editions and has the support of more than 80 coastal municipalities along the Mediterranean and Andalusian coast, as well as the emergency services (112) and public transport networks.

Through this project, tourists, fishermen and residents are given guidance on how to act when they come across an injured turtle, a nesting female, a nest or newly hatched turtles on the beaches.

The hatchlings returning to the sea today were found on 29 July 2025 on this same Benafelí beach. It was Almassora residents themselves who reported the presence of hatchlings on the sand. When the conservation team arrived and excavated the nest, it found 125 eggs, from which 51 hatchlings had emerged, although only 11 remained on the beach, as it is estimated that the other 40 had reached the sea on their own.

The turtles found were initially taken to the Oceanogràfic in Valencia for the corresponding veterinary checks. On 16 September 2025, ten of them arrived at Fundación Azul Marino’s facilities in Oropesa del Mar to continue growing within the Oceanogràfic’s Head Starting programme, in collaboration with the foundation. One year later, the turtles have gone from the 33 grams they weighed on arrival to an average of 3 kilos with which they return to the sea today: seven females and three males in total.

“Thanks to public alerts such as this one, we can develop effective wildlife recovery programmes. For us it is very important to highlight the role of everyone in Castellón in caring for and protecting our marine natural heritage. This release is therefore an example of the good results of the awareness and outreach work carried out every year within the ‘Aquí salvamos tortugas’ campaign, in which we collaborate with Fundación Oceanogràfic and municipalities all along the Mediterranean coast,” explained Pablo García.

Head Starting programme

Head Starting is an Oceanogràfic programme, developed with the collaboration of Fundación Azul Marino, which seeks to increase the survival of some of the turtles born on the beaches of the Valencian Community by allowing them to grow in a controlled environment until they exceed 1.5 kilos, the most vulnerable stage of their lives. Of every thousand turtles born in the wild, only one or two reach adulthood. Each individual released therefore represents a significant opportunity for the conservation of the species.

The loggerhead turtle, increasingly present along the Valencian coast

In 2025, five loggerhead nesting events were recorded in the province of Castellón, a figure that reflects the growing importance of this coastline for the species. This summer the province has not yet recorded any hatchings, although the nesting season is still open and they may still occur until the end of September.

About Fundación Azul Marino

Fundación Azul Marino is an organisation dedicated to the conservation of marine species and environmental education in the province of Castellón. In collaboration with Fundación Oceanogràfic, it runs the Marine Species Conservation Centre at Bellver Blue Tech Zone, where it cares for and monitors threatened marine wildlife before their return to the sea.