How to protect sea turtles on Cape Verdean beaches
Cape Verde is the Atlantic's 3rd largest nesting site. Practical rules, certified operators and mistakes to avoid on the sand at night.
Between July and October, thousands of Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) come ashore on Cape Verde beaches to nest. The archipelago is the Atlantic's third largest nesting site for this species — a privilege that comes with responsibility. Every visitor can help protect this cycle or, unintentionally, disturb females and hatchlings at critical stages.
The most important beaches cluster on Boa VistaSanta MónicaAtalantaSal
The golden rule is simple: on the beach at night, darkness and silence. Never use white-light torches, phone flashes or drones. Artificial light disorients females seeking the exact spot where they were born and confuses hatchlings that follow the natural ocean horizon to reach the water.
Jolo Diaz / Pexels
Stay at least 15 metres away, always position yourself behind the animal and avoid sudden movements. Do not touch eggs, marked nests or hatchlings. The turtle's pace is slow on purpose: interrupting the climb or digging may send the female back to sea without nesting.
Book tours only with certified operators or recognised NGOs — Projecto Biodiversidade on Sal, local associations on Boa Vista, volunteer programmes with prior training. Your money should fund monitoring, nest protection and community education, not spectacles that crowd the beach.
Impact continues by day. Do not leave litter, especially plastics the sea returns to the sand. Do not drive quads or jeeps over marked nesting zones. If you stay at a resort on Santa Maria Beach
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