Sea turtles at Rosalie Beach

Three of the world’s seven types of sea turtles come to nest at the beaches of Dominica every year. Last Saturday we went to Rosalie beach to see the largest of them, the Leatherback turtle, laying her eggs.

From Roseau, it is about an hours drive across the island, to the small Rosalie beach, soon to be surrounded by the Rosalie Bay Resort. But as the beach itself is public it is still ok to get in there, even to put up our small tent under the coconut palms. Between May and August, sea turtles come up to nest almost every night, so it is great to try to pick a full moon night, as we did.

In June it gets dark around seven, and as it takes a little for the moon to come out, we put up the tent and had our picnic dinner early. Luckily our one and a half year old son was really tired, and fell asleep soon after. So did we, and we all got a couple of hours of sleep. Later on, more and more people started to arrive, until a small party was going around the tent.

Some nights as many as ten or twenty turtles come to nest, but this night was quite windy and the waves somewhat rough. The turtle also need dry sand to be able to dig the whole for the eggs, and when the first turtle came ashore she could not find that, and decided to go back, without nesting.

A couple of hours later, a second turtle reached the shore and at the critical moment when she starts digging the hole and is easily distracted, guides from the local sea turtle initiative, RoSTI, make sure no curious people, like us and the rest of the crowd, come to close. The sea turtles have existed for over 600 million years, and nested on the beaches when the dinosaurs where still around. Today they are what scientists call critically endangered, basically meaning they are extremely close to permanent extinction. In Dominica, as in many other countries where the giant turtles nest, they have been hunted for their shell and their meet, and for the eggs. The belief that eating turtle eggs is good aphrodisiac is of course nothing but a belief, and completely incorrect. The work done by RoSTI have highly risen the awareness of the importance of protecting the sea turtles, and the killing has gradually diminished, though far from completely. In Laplaine, more than six turtles have been killed during this month. Although there is no law in Dominica preventing people from eating turlte meat, the law says that when a turtle is on the beach it is in its nesting activity and must not be touched.

Once the turtle start laying her eggs, she goes into a kind of "trance", and will not stop the process until the eggs have been laid and the nest is completely covered. Good, I think, as once the eggs are safe in the hole and the covering up process starts, the party also start again. The RoSTI guides move on along the beach, in search for more turtles who may need some protection while trying to make their way up, and "our" turtle is left alone, with us and about twenty more people. Even though the moon is out flashlights are used, to check the face and the eyes closely, camera flashes goes off constantly and every now and then the bravest of the young men jump up on the turtles back, do a few moves and jump off. Finally, nest covering is completed, and the very, very tired turtle crawls back, with a young man riding on her back until he falls of when she reaches the first waves and disappears into the ocean.

But – no eggs are taken, neither are there any suggestions on killing the turtle, just curiosity of who she is and what she looks like. The Coral Reef Alliance have guidelines for turtle watching, if you click here, and it is probably much calmer if you come during the week.

If they make it through the first critical years, a sea turtle lives for an average of 50 to 70 years, but it takes at least 30 years before they can lay any eggs. By clicking here, you can actually track two of the lady turtles who made it to Rosalie beach this year.

We are already planning on when to go back to see the hatchlings make it to the deep blue. And to philosophize on how many of them will make it back again, in 30 years time or so.

Some more facts: Except for the Leatherback turtle, also the Hawksbill and the Green Turtle come to nest at Dominica’s beaches. The Leatherback is by far the largest of all sea turtles, and may reach a length of about 8 feet (2.4 meters), and weigh nearly half a ton while nesting. They have a span of nearly 10 feet (3 meters) from the tip of one front flipper to the tip of the other, and can dive to nearly 4.000 feet in a single dive.

How to get there: From Roseau you cross the island, making a right when you reach the Pont Cassé junction. Before you get to the Rosalie village, just after crossing a small bridge, you turn left and actually pass the entrance to the construction site of the Rosalie Bay Resort. From there you see the beach.