May 15th is the official start of the 2012 turtle nesting season
according to the Comité de Protección a la Tortuga Marina. Brigades in search
of early nests have already discovered 10, nine of which have been discovered
in Playa Box, located on the eastern side of the island.
Cozumel is fortunate to be a protected breeding area to two species
of turtles, the loggerhead (careta careta) and the green turtle (chelonian
mydas). During the months of May through September these turtles come ashore to
lay their eggs on Cozumel’s eastern beaches. Sea turtles generally lay between
150-200 eggs each time and can nest up to 6 times in a breeding season. The
eggs take around 60 days to incubate before the baby turtles head toward the
sea.