Grant Period: 1 year 

The nesting beach monitoring programme is highly regarded as one of the longest running critically endangered hawksbill turtle conservation programmes in the world. Barbados is the destination of choice for over 600 nesting hawksbill turtles annually, the largest population in the insular Caribbean. For over 30 years, the Barbados Sea Turtle Project (BSTP) has been working to restore the critically endangered hawksbill turtle nesting populations around the island to levels where they can once more fulfill their important ecological roles.

The project’s main conservation efforts include nesting beach monitoring, in-water monitoring, rescue and rehabilitation, genetic analysis, and satellite telemetry.

Project Goals: 

• To recover marine turtle populations in Barbados through the use of scientifically-sound conservation measures and monitoring programmes, and through the development and implementation of training, education, and public awareness tools and activities that encourage the support and active participation of stakeholders.
• To support similar efforts in other countries of the Caribbean.

With more than 100,000 hatchlings and nesting sea turtles rescued, BSTP is also a regional asset in training other sea turtle conservation groups across the Caribbean.