When Mel Tennant retired from teaching in England and moved to Jamaica in 2003, he expected a quiet life overlooking Gibraltar Beach. What he found instead were sea turtle tracks in the sand — and turtles being killed, their eggs stolen. With no background in conservation and little outside support, Mel and his wife Lydia decided to act.
Together they began patrolling the beach at night, protecting nests and guiding hatchlings to the water. In their first season they saved three nests and released around 350 turtles. Lydia's passion for the project was as fierce as Mel's, and her spirit remains woven into everything Sea Turtles Jamaica does today.
Since founding the project in 2005, Mel has seen nest survival on Gibraltar Beach rise from 37% to over 80%. Not a single nest has been lost to poaching on that stretch of beach in twenty years. Each nesting season, 12,000 to 21,000 hatchlings make their first journey to the sea under his watch — over 300,000 in total and counting.
In 2022, the British Crown awarded Mel an MBE for services to marine conservation in Jamaica. He has spoken at TEDxJamaica, received a RJRGLEANER Honour Award, and worked alongside partners including Sandals Foundation, GoldenEye Resort, and Jamaica's National Environment and Planning Agency.
"When I retired from teaching to live in Jamaica, the very last thing I thought I would do is rescue sea turtles."

Omar leads our survey team on nesting beach patrols, bringing expertise and dedication to every season. His knowledge of the coastline and commitment to the mission make him an invaluable part of the Sea Turtles Jamaica family.