On June 8, 2026, Four Seasons Resort Nevis and the Sea Turtle Conservancy announced a milestone: twenty years of working together to protect the sea turtles that nest on the island’s beaches. The partnership, which began in 2006 and also involves the Nevis Turtle Group, has turned one stretch of Caribbean coastline into a long-running research site.
- Year the turtle partnership began
- 2006
- Distance some tracked hawksbills travelled to Central America
- 2,600 km
The partnership
The Sea Turtle Conservancy describes itself in the announcement as the world’s oldest sea turtle research and conservation organization. Its work on Nevis focuses mainly on the critically endangered hawksbill, though green and leatherback turtles also nest on the island.
The resort sponsors the GPS satellite transmitters used to follow turtles that come back to Nevis to nest. A 2019 account of the programme put nesting season at June through October and counted that year as the thirteenth of the partnership, which fits the 2006 start.
What the tracking has shown
Over twenty years the partnership has tracked more than 30 turtles nesting on Nevis, using satellite telemetry to follow their migrations across the Caribbean. The findings suggest hawksbills travel much farther than once believed: some journeyed more than 2,600 kilometres (1,615 miles) from Nevis to the coast of Central America.
One turtle released from Nevis was followed for six consecutive years. The Sea Turtle Conservancy’s Executive Director, David Godfrey, called the data valuable for regional conservation strategy, helping researchers understand migratory routes, foraging habitats and the threats hawksbills face.
“caring for our environment is inseparable from caring for our guests”
Tour de Turtles and named turtles
Nevis also takes part in the Conservancy’s Tour de Turtles, a migration marathon that lets the public follow tracked turtles online in near real time. The resort sponsors and names its entrants. In 2021, a hawksbill named Oualie was released on September 10 with a transmitter after she was found nesting at Jones Bay Beach, and the Conservancy logged 804 kilometres over 83 days of tracking.
Each tracked turtle helps raise awareness of threats such as climate change and the illegal tortoiseshell trade.
Education and protection on the resort
The programme’s Kids Camps and outreach have reached more than 1,200 local children and resort guests, with hands-on marine biology, conservation lessons and a close look at turtle monitoring. The announcement says the resort has also adopted turtle-friendly lighting, protective nest-management protocols and resort-wide environmental policies to safeguard nesting beaches and hatchlings.
The stakes are high: only an estimated one in 1,000 to 10,000 hatchlings survives to adulthood.
What it means for owners and visitors
The Sea Turtle Conservancy’s 20th anniversary visit to Nevis was set for July 21 to 24, 2026, and the resort invited guests to contact it directly about taking part. For owners at Four Seasons Resort Estates, the turtles are part of daily life on Pinney’s Beach: the same shoreline that supports their home also supports the nests.
General Manager Avi Phookan framed the milestone as a commitment as well as a celebration, and the resort says its aim is to ensure sea turtles keep coming back to Nevis for generations.
