Shell Beach, located on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

coast of

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

in the

Barima-Waini Barima-Waini (Region 1) is a Regions of Guyana, region of Guyana and is located in the northwest of the country. Barima-Waini has three sub-regions: Mabaruma, Matakai, and Moruca. The region is located in the northwest of the country and has a p ...

Region, near the

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

n border, is a nesting site for four of the eight

sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerh ...

species - the

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

Hawksbill turtle The hawksbill sea turtle (''Eretmochelys imbricata'') is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Eretmochelys''. The species has a global distribution that is largely ...

, Leatherback and the Olive Ridley. Shell Beach extends for approximately 120 km.

Turtle Turtles are reptiles of the order (biology), order Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Crypt ...

s used to be slaughtered for their

meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...

and eggs but are now part of a

non-governmental A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

conservation program called the Guyana Marine Turtle Conservation Society (GMTCS), founded by Dr.

Peter Pritchard Peter Charles Howard Pritchard (June 26, 1943 – February 25, 2020) was a leading turtle zoologist. Pritchard was educated at Oxford University and the University of Florida, where he received a Ph.D. and specialized in Zoology. He was most com ...

and Romeo De Freitas. Shell Beach was not formally protected, although direct and indirect conservation activities to protect the

nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold Egg (biology), eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of ...

ing sea turtles started in the 1960s, when Pritchard first began annual research visits. Due to his efforts to conserve the turtles in the region, Pritchard was dubbed "Hero of the Planet" by Time. As of 2011, it is a protected area, and

Amerindians In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

from the local communities of Almond Beach, Gwennie Beach, and nine other villages within the area are involved in the programme.

References

Barima-Waini Beaches of South America Landforms of Guyana Tourist attractions in Guyana Water in Guyana Natural history of Guyana Protected areas of Guyana {{SouthAm-protected-area-stub