We all love to travel. But no one can deny that tourism can be harmful, even destructive. However, as Godfrey points out, tourism has actually helped sea turtle conservation efforts. In Tortuguero, for instance, “tourism saved the largest nesting colony of turtles in the world,” Godfrey states.
That said, there are some red flags to look for when looking for nesting experiences. The first one is lighting. Godfrey declares that lights “disorient the nesting turtles coming ashore. But most importantly, they disorient the hatchlings, which then go the wrong way and get run over. [It’s] not like that happens every once in a while. No, it happens thousands of times a year.”
Lights from resorts as well as the flashlights used in tours should be orange or amber, as close to red as possible. Godfrey also suggests asking yourself about the process. “Do they let people just walk out on the beach with flashlights, looking for turtles, or is it a very organized process?”
Of course, touching — unless you’re accompanying a scientific expedition to tag the turtles — is never allowed. One more thing, you should never be in front of the turtle as it’s nesting. If you stay behind, it won’t even notice you’re there.
