February 4, 2022
As the last sea turtle nests are about to hatch along the Mediterranean coastline, a tribute to those working on the beaches seems only fair. Hatchlings do have their guardian angels in those who carry out beach patrols, monitor nests, run conservation programs, coordinate volunteers, report violations and do so much more to safeguard the beaches and ensure uninterrupted nesting activity. Huge credit is due to all those who strive to protect sea turtles – an emblematic species for Mediterranean marine biodiversity.
But one can’t act alone! It’s a tricky and challenging process to protect a highly migratory species like turtles. Synergies and partnerships are necessary to achieve efficient conservation across the Mediterranean Sea.
Nine direct partners and numerous local partners, ranging from NGOs, conventions and public authorities spanning 12 countries, collaborate for the Conservation of Marine Turtles in the Mediterranean Region project. Thanks to funding from the MAVA Foundation, project teams can work on the beaches, in scientific labs, in policymaking meetings and “fight” for turtles.
Summers are different for “turtle people” and 2021 was no different.
In Albania, MEDASSET initiated training for protected area staff to manage sporadic nesting and a drone survey to study the sea turtle population in the Drin Bay. In the northern Aegean, a field survey was undertaken, covering a major part of the Greek coastline to assess beach suitability for sporadic nesting. Data analysis will enhance our knowledge of sea turtle marine distributions and evaluate sea turtle nesting habitat and activity, and the possible implications of climatic change.
Greece hosts approximately 45%* of Caretta caretta sea turtle nests in the Mediterranean. Apart from the monitoring and nest protection in the country’s major nesting habitats, ARCHELON conducted extensive fieldwork in the Amvrakikos Bay (in the Ionian Sea, northwestern Greece), with the aim to increase scientific knowledge on sea turtle distribution, movements and migration routes. ARCHELON uses the rodeo technique to capture turtles, which are tagged, satellite tracked and released directly back into the sea. As a result of the 2021 fieldwork efforts, 5 adult male turtles were satellite tracked, while 299 turtles in total were captured, out of which 81 were neophyte (i.e., were never spotted before in the habitat).

Field work in Amvrakikos Bay. [© 2021 ARCHELON]
Zakynthos is also the location of another important nesting beach, Sekania. During the 2021 nesting season, Sekania hosted 589 loggerhead nests out of 1,319 nests in total (based on ARCHELON and National Marine Park monitoring), confirming its pivotal role.
Also in the summer, WWF Greece implemented a series of low-impact conservation activities on Sekania beach to preserve the nesting area. These included fire prevention measures, systematic wardening and predation monitoring (seagulls and ghost crabs).
When the WWF’s Blue Panda boat anchored in Zakynthos, a web lab on tourism put the spotlight on the consequences of mass tourism and ways to minimize its impact on the island.

Cooperating for monitoring ghost crabs population and assess potential predation on turtles at Sekania beach on Zakynthos island [© 2021 WWF Greece]
This summer, vegetation mapping on Akyatan beach also commenced. Showing the relationship between Green turtle nest use and vegetation will support local government in its spatial planning.

Protecting nests from predators with nest cages. [© 2021 WWF Turkey]

Team of Volunteers at DEKAMER Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Dalyan. [© 2021 DEKAMER]
In Kuriat island, the main Caretta caretta nesting area in Tunisia, nesting activity of sea turtles is in continuous progression, thanks to the well-coordinated efforts of its co-management unit (APAL, NGB).This year the number of nests has almost doubled compared to 2015, rising from 20 to 44 nests.
The SeaTuMed sub-project, a communication programme, launched by WWF North Africa, brought together more than 15 NGOs to protect sea turtles and engage people in their conservation through targeted awareness-raising activities.

WWF Tunisia Awareness Raising Activities on sea turtles in schools. [© 2021 WWF Tunisie]
It makes sense to be a turtle “hero” after all.
Click HERE to read it on ekathimerini.com
* Casale P, Broderick AC, Camiñas JA, Cardona L and others (2018), Mediterranean sea turtles: current knowledge and priorities for conservation and research. Endang Species Res 36:229-267. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00901, from the supplementary table S9 http://www.int-res.com/articles/suppl/n036p229_supp.pdf
Comments are closed.