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OFF THEY GO: Only seven days old but the little baby turtles make their way to sea off Fitts Village Beach on Wednesday.

Hawksbill Hatchlings released on Fitts Village Beach

Against a scenic sunset, over 150 hawksbill hatchlings were release into the wild on Wednesday evening.

The momentous event occurred along Fitts Village Beach as scores of onlookers, nature lovers and photographers watched the seven-day-old baby turtles crawl from white plastic containers making the journey from the sand embankment to the foamy shoreline. At the start of the exercise, volunteers from the Barbados Turtle Project gave a brief talk about the life of the turtle and hatchlings before releasing them onto the beach.

Last month, over 100 hatchlings were sent off along drill hall beach. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), “hawksbills are threatened by the loss of nesting and feeding habitats, excessive egg collection, fishery-related mortality, pollution and coastal development”. It takes the hawksbill two to three years to reproduce and she can lay 60 to 200 eggs at a time. In her natural habitat, a hawksbill often nests close to coral reefs.

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