Castellón completes the release in Peñíscola and Nules of the turtles born last year on its beaches

• Fundación Azul Marino, Fundación Oceanogràfic and the town councils of Peñíscola and Nules have released ten Caretta caretta hatchlings that have grown for a year within the Oceanogràfic Head-Starting programme: five in Peñíscola on 30 September and the other five today in Nules, where the release was postponed from 1 October due to the red weather alert.
• The nests were found in August and September 2025 thanks to reports from local residents, and the turtles have grown from 16 grams to 3.5 kilos on average.
• The turtles arrived at the Fundación Azul Marino Conservation Centre in Oropesa weighing 16 grams and have been released weighing 3.5 kilos on average.
• These two releases complete the release of all the nests found last year in the province of Castellón.

Oropesa del Mar (Castellón). Fundación Azul Marino has returned to the sea the last ten loggerhead turtles born last summer in the province of Castellón that have grown within the Oceanogràfic Head-Starting programme. The two releases, carried out together with Fundación Oceanogràfic and the town councils of Peñíscola and Nules, are part of the ‘Aquí salvamos tortugas’ (Here we save turtles) campaign, an initiative of Fundación Oceanogràfic in which Fundación Azul Marino and the Seville Aquarium collaborate. They close the cycle of releases from the nests found in the province during 2025.

Of these ten turtles, five returned to the sea a few weeks ago at Platja Nord in Peñíscola and the other five did so this morning from l’Alcudia beach in Nules, the same places where they were born more than a year ago. All of them have now returned to the sea weighing more than three kilos, compared with the 16 grams they weighed when they arrived at the foundation’s centre in Oropesa del Mar.

Originally scheduled for 1 October, the Nules release had to be postponed for safety reasons due to the red alert affecting the province, in line with the recommendations of the authorities.

The Peñíscola event was attended by the town’s Mayor, Andrés Martínez, the Councillor for Education, María Dolores Bayarri, and pupils from CEIP Jaime Sanz. In Nules, the event was attended by the Councillor for Culture, María José Esteban, together with members of the town council such as Ramón Martínez, Miguel Ángel Martínez and Mª Carmen Torres, and the children and residents who found the nest last year. Both releases were attended by Pablo García, Projects Director of Fundación Azul Marino, together with the foundation’s team of biologists and veterinarians from Fundación Oceanogràfic.

Community collaboration

The Nules hatchlings were found on 26 August 2025 after several residents reported the presence of hatchlings on the beach and in houses near the seafront promenade. The help of a group of girls, who followed the tracks in the sand, made it possible to find the nest. The conservation team counted a total of 90 hatchlings.

In Peñíscola, residents raised the alert on 5 September 2025. The conservation team found 15 live hatchlings, seven of which were taken in for recovery. Two of them later died due to flipper malformations.

A year in the Head-Starting programme

Five turtles from each nest were admitted to the Marine Species Conservation Centre run by Fundación Azul Marino at Bellver Blue Tech Zone (Oropesa del Mar) weighing 16 grams. At the time of release, the Peñíscola turtles, five males, weighed 3.6 kilos on average, and the Nules turtles, four males and one female, 3.3 kilos.

Head-Starting is a Fundación Oceanogràfic programme, with the collaboration of Fundación Azul Marino, that aims 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 have passed the most vulnerable stage of their lives. It is estimated that of every thousand turtles born in the wild, only one or two reach adulthood.

“It is increasingly common for the loggerhead turtle to choose beaches on our Mediterranean coast to nest. We must be aware that we share this space with it and take responsibility for looking after it. With small gestures and everyone’s collaboration, we can help these beaches remain a safe place that turtles want to return to in order to lay their eggs”, said Pablo García, Projects Director of Fundación Azul Marino.

The loggerhead turtle in Castellón

In 2025, five loggerhead turtle nesting events were recorded in the province of Castellón, a figure that reflects the growing importance of this coastline for the species. So far, no nests have been recorded on Castellón’s beaches in 2026. However, these releases respond to the need to make room for the eggs from nests found along the Valencian coast this summer.

Jaime Penadés, a biologist at Fundación Azul Marino, highlighted “the importance of continuing to protect our natural marine heritage”. Marina García, a veterinarian at Fundación Oceanogràfic, stressed that “thanks to the Head-Starting programme, they have spent a year both at the Oceanogràfic and at the Fundación Azul Marino conservation centre, receiving the care they needed to return to the sea today. Perhaps in the future the female may even return to this same beach to lay her nest”.

The ‘Aquí salvamos tortugas’ campaign, now in its sixth edition, is supported by more than 80 coastal municipalities along the Mediterranean and Andalusian coast, the 112 emergency service and several public transport networks. Its aim is to share with tourists, fishermen and residents the guidelines on what to do when they see an injured turtle, a female laying eggs, a nest or hatchlings on the beach.

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 endangered marine wildlife before returning it to the sea.