New Sea Turtle Nesting Records for the Netherlands Antilles Provide Impetus to Conservation Action

Until the early 1990s, information on sea turtle nesting in the Netherlands Antilles amounted to little more than a few anecdotal ac- counts and sea turtle nesting was considered nothing more than a rare or accidental occurrence. However, several recent studies have found significant levels of sea turtle nesting activity and have served as an important impetus to successful implementation of new conservation measures and initiatives. We pre- sent and discuss new information that documents several additional sea turtle nesting beaches for con- servation on four Caribbean islands, and that can serve as baseline data for future reference. While most studies elsewhere have focused on large sea turtle nesting beaches, our findings support the idea that small, scattered nesting beaches could cumula- tively contribute significantly to both reproductive output and recovery potential of several species when examined on a regional scale.