Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, October 13, 2026 – Puerto Vallarta is seeking volunteers and materials Tuesday to rebuild its storm-damaged turtle nursery at Playa Holi, where about 300 nests remain.
Roberto Ornelas Carrillo, the city’s environmental sustainability director, said that crews need wooden posts, mesh, and cleanup assistance.
“We have to rebuild it, and we’re in that process,” he said, translated from Spanish.
Volunteers can contact the Environmental Sustainability Department on Facebook for work dates and times. Anyone offering materials should confirm the specifications with staff before purchasing them.
For residents who want to help, the immediate question is how to rebuild the enclosure while protecting the nests still inside.
Ornelas said Polo’s waves covered roughly 85% of the corral and damaged about 1,800 eggs across three rows of nests. Staff nevertheless managed to release around 800 hatchlings afterward.
Simón brought a different problem: freshwater intrusion. According to Ornelas, a dune at the Pitillal River mouth altered the flow, sending water toward the nursery despite two protective barricades. Civil Protection and firefighters opened the river mouth over the weekend, partially lowering the accumulated water.
The latest appeal follows weeks of efforts to protect the site. Vallarta Daily covered the September 23 operation to shield 574 turtle nests from Polo’s surf Quadratin Jalisco, when crews built a sandbag barrier at Playa Holi. Municipal officials then reported more than 55,000 eggs under protection.
By October 4, reports cited damage to support posts and the enclosure’s front mesh, according to Alianza Esperanza de Tortugas Marinas, which was supporting cleanup and recovery work.
Those counts describe different stages of the season. Comparing September’s 574 nests with approximately 300 now cannot, by itself, establish how many were lost to storms. Tuesday’s report does not fully assess how many remaining eggs are viable.
Rebuilding the fence has a specific conservation purpose. Mexico’s federal turtle-protection standard defines a corral as a protected beach enclosure where relocated eggs incubate until hatchlings emerge. It calls for perimeter mesh two meters high, buried 50 centimeters into the sand, to help prevent predation and theft.
Work around the nests also requires care. Municipal officials have urged residents to report exposed eggs or hatchlings without handling them, explaining that inappropriate handling can affect embryonic development. Trained staff should assess what action is needed.
Ornelas said hatchlings are still being released, although public invitations remain suspended while the region monitors Pacific storms. Nesting continues through December, meaning the enclosure needs repairs while the remaining nests still require protection.
