Locals and marine conservationists have watched for a mother turtle to lay 103 eggs on a beach in Nhon Hai Commune under Quy Nhon, the capital city of Binh Dinh Province, south-central Vietnam.

This was the first turtle to have nested on the beach this year.

Nguyen Ton Xuan Sang, a marine conservationist in the commune, said on Wednesday that the turtle returned to the sea after laying eggs on Tuesday night.

Some locals in the commune discovered a turtle crawling onto the beach to lay eggs at 11:00 pm on Tuesday, said Sang.

They quickly reported the case to a team of marine conservationists in the commune to protect the eggs.

“Some members of the team and I promptly ran to the beach to watch for the mother turtle and ensure the safety of its eggs," Sang recounted.

“When we approached the scene, the mother turtle was digging a hole to lay eggs.

"The turtle was estimated to weigh some 20-30 kilograms and is 0.8 meters long,”

After 30 minutes, the turtle finished laying eggs and crawled back to the water, he added.

As its nest was at risk of being swept away by waves, Sang and some marine conservationists relocated the nest to a safer place.

Nguyen Ngoc Nam, vice-chairman of the Nhon Hai Commune administration, said that the commune had zoned part of the beach to make it a nesting place for turtles.

Adult turtles, mainly olive ridley sea turtles, usually come ashore to lay eggs from May to the end of September each year, said some locals.

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