hatchery training lots of things to know and do! hatchery duty is 6 hours long, not including the time it takes to get there. hatchery A is 40 minutes away and Hatchery B is 10 minutes. you need to check the temperature of nests and air temperature. the nests have to be checked every 10 minutes during the day because the hot sand will dehydrate the babies. at night, we have to check every 20 minutes. when the babies hatch, we take 15 and measure their width, height, and weigh them. we look for deformities before releasing them. if there are maggots (usually in the eye, belly button or bum), we use tweezers to remove them and disinfect the area. there are two charts to fill out. we only release babies at night because daylight is too hot and the sand will burn their flippers. we´re supposed to put them on dry sand and let them go into the ocean so they can imprint and know to come back to lay their eggs. releasing them in groups of 20 are okay, but no more than that. the hatchery is fenced around sand that has been sifted of organic material. it is as pure as it can be. it took 3 weeks to build the hatchery and it has to be torn down august 15, when the project closes. string run on top of the sand to form a grid, it is labeled like a map or a chessboard with numbers along one edge and letters along the other. nests are relocated to the hatchery if it is not laid in a good area. the dimensions of the original nest is recorded and dug in the hatchery. eggs must be relocated within the hour. half of the hatchery is in the shade because leatherback sex is determined by temperature. the mark is at 29.5 degrees celcius: hot chicks and cool guys.
lunch beef, mashed potatoes with a cabbage salad (coleslaw) and juice. people talked about july 4th coming up. i got homesick because we would be missing Canada day. after lunch, we walked to make phone calls. i saw a doggy the size of my forearm with a pink collar. at first, he walked away, but i crouched down and he came over. he rolled to show his belly so i could scratch it. he let me hold him to take a picture. it cheered me up right away.
afternoon activity everyone gathered at 1:30pm to fix hatchery B. the waves eroded it so badly the last week that 2 rows of nests had to be relocated. first we tightened all the rope holding the barrier. we unknotted and cut all the rope that was useless and salvage them. then we had to find dark, heavy logs to break the waves. those were tough to find and also tough to carry. the sand in my crocs irritated the bug bites on my feet. when we carried enough logs (usually 8-10 people per log), we filled up sandbags to put around the hatchery. dry sand is the lightest option, but was hard to find. the bags were canvas. the tops needed to be twisted and tied with twine. the waves are big coming onto the beach. we often got hit hard while working on the hatchery. our clothes were salty from the sea. i washed my clothes the same time as i showered.
dinner rice, small beans and veggies (carrots, melon) with juice. we both have to get up at 5:30 am tomorrow for our 6 am shifts. i told Lydia not to make me breakfast
buenas noches i packed the nectarine Henry gave me, the rest of my sesame sticks, orange juice and an apple for my 6 hour hatchery shift. i brushed my teeth and put on my contacts and retainer (i´ve forgotten to put it on since i left). it´s 6:30pm and super dark outside. i´m going to lie here until i fall asleep.
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