Recent News
Videos/Photos: Start Of ‘Tour De Turtles Race’Tuesday, August 14, 2012
This morning marked the official start of the race with one turtle being released at Clearwater Beach in St David’s.
Turtles to be released and tracked
Friday, August 10, 2012
At least five green sea turtles with attached satellite transmitters are being released from Clearwater Beach next week.
Tour de Turtles Bermuda: ‘Race On The Rock’
Thursday, August 09, 2012
“Tour de Turtles Bermuda: Race On The Rock” will kick off next week and will see green turtles fitted with GPS satellite transmitters to enable researchers to track their every movement as they “race” across the seas.
Volunteers clean up BAMZ
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Some 70 students and volunteers from eleven companies participated in The Centre on Philanthropy’s Community Day.
Saving our 'floating golden rainforest' at a local level
Friday, July 13, 2012
FRIDAY, JUNE 13: The Bermuda Alliance for Sargasso Sea formed last June with the intention of supporting a government led plan to protect the Sargasso Sea and the multitude of species that live within it. The Bermuda Sun sat down with four of the BASS member charities to discuss their mission so far.
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Latest News
All the latest updates and news from the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum, and Zoo, one of Bermuda's leading visitor attractions!
By Cooper Stevenson
Published Jun 23, 2014 at 8:00 am
Protecting turtles: A petition calling for the creation of a turtle sanctuary
zone in the waters off Somerset Long Bay has attracted almost 500 signatures?
A petition calling for Somerset Long Bay in Sandys to be made into a turtle sanctuary has attracted more than 450 signatures.
Directed at the newly installed Minister for the Environment, Jeanne Atherden, the petition is now just 30 signatures short of its target of 500.
But more signatures are still needed, said Sandys resident Grace Markham. She began the petition alongside Cambridge Beaches Resort beach manager, Luke Fountain, after seeing a dead turtle apparently killed by a passing jet ski.
“Since the article came out last time, I’ve had another dead turtle in front of my cabana, which I delivered to the Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo so they can figure out what happened to the poor thing,” she said.
“I’ve found a lot of people being very supportive of the cause — people I didn’t expect to worry about marine life. It’s good. I’m glad people are realising it’s up to us to protect these animals in their natural habitat. It’s the least we can do considering the amount of sea life that dies due to humans.”
The sanctuary proposed in the petition would include a no-wake zone extended to the boundaries of the seagrass meadow in the area, which stretches beyond the normal 100 metres from shore no-wake zone, and more signs warning of the presence of turtles in the area.
Jennifer Gray, coordinator for the Bermuda Turtle Project, has signed the petition. In a post on the website she said the sanctuary would be “perfect” . “These animals come to Bermuda at a very young age and will spend up to 20 years growing up in these lush pastures,” she wrote.
“They will stay in the same specific feeding grounds for most of those years before leaving Bermuda to mature elsewhere. Somerset Long Bay is a perfect place to create a marine protected area and restrict motor boats of all kinds.
“We could then have a haven for sea turtles and an amazing place to kayak and paddle board in the midst of these wonderful creatures. Visitors and locals alike would love such an eco-experience. There are certainly other areas worthy of protection too.”
For more information or to sign the petition, visit facebook.com/longbayturtles.