A breath away from registering a new world record on the years of known active reproduction of a loggerhead sea turtle is ARCHELON, the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece
This is the year when ARCHELON, a nonprofit environmental NGO, is celebrating 40 years of continuous and targeted action to save sea turtles in Greece and the Mediterranean. At the same time, the project team of ARCHELON on Zakynthos are ready to register the longest period of active reproduction known for the Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), in case it happens this year!
The "champion" turtle with code B2494 was tagged in 1986 on the island of Zakynthos by trained ARCHELON volunteers, who since then have been systematically recording every time she came ashore to lay her eggs. In the summer of 2022 this turtle was located nesting again in Zakynthos, marking 36 years of continuous nesting, equaling the world record for the species, which has been recorded for a loggerhead turtle in Florida, USA. This achievement comes to certify the reliable long-term scientific effort of ARCHELON, the nonprofit environmental NGO who systematically monitor and record important data on sea turtle nesting in Greece.
It is known that sea turtles live for a long time but we do not know exactly how many years. We also do not know how many years they are actively reproducing. Tagging is a method of identifying and registering the turtles that come ashore to lay their eggs each year on the beach, so there is a reliable metric.
In case the 2023 team of ARCHELON volunteers record the same turtle nesting again in Laganas Bay, Zakynthos, there will be a new world record set, highlighting the great importance of the population that is systematically monitored on the island of Zakynthos for the past 40 years.
ARCHELON has been running the tagging program with the help of trained volunteers since the early 1980s in Zakynthos and Kyparissia Bay. It works like this: two tags are placed on each turtle, so than in case one gets damaged, it can still be replaced, keeping the identity of the turtle on the basis of the second one. In the past many turtles have had both their plastic or metal tags destroyed, leading to the loss of their original identity.
In 2019, the scientific team of ARCHELON did a search of the database of tags that had been placed on turtles over the years and found some turtles that had been laying nests for over 20 years. Two of them were the "champions" with 33 years of reproductive life. In the summer of 2022, one of the "champions", with code B2494, made a nest again in Zakynthos and thus completed 36 years of nesting, equaling the world record.
It is worth noting that the turtle B2494, like several others in Zakynthos, Kyparissia Bay and Rethymno, has now also been marked with an electronic signal (PIT tag), which is permanent and thus its identity is not lost.
Even more energized, the members and volunteers of ARCHELON from Greece and dozens of other countries, continue the tagging program in Zakynthos, Kyparissia Bay and Rethymno, hoping to witness the breaking of the world record in reproduction years, contributing to the international effort to understand the Loggerhead’s life cycle and its protection.
For more information about volunteering with ARCHELON on Zakynthos, check out this link https://archelon.gr/en/volunteer/project-areas/zakynthos-laganas-bay
To find out more about the ARCHELON Sea Turtle Rescue Centre and its educational activities, check out this link https://archelon.gr/en/project-areas/glyfada-sea-turtle-rescue-centre
The nesting season has begun! Learn what you can do if you find sea turtle tracks or nests on the beach
A Saturday unlike any other - Turtle Festival 2023
RECENT NEWS
- OUR NEWS02/05/2024
Sea Turtle Festival for Kids 2024
Save the date! On Saturday 18 May at 11:00, the ARCHELON Rescue Centre opens its doors to welcome young and old sea turtle friends who want to celebrate, explore, learn, play and travel magically in the Mediterranean Sea. We are waiting for you to strengthen our message for a better and sustainable planet!
- OUR NEWS02/05/2024
A successful year for the International Sea Turtle Symposium
The International Sea Turtle Symposium concluded triumphantly this March in Pattaya, Thailand, with ARCHELON actively participating.
- OUR NEWS29/04/2024
A Morning Beach Patrol with ARCHELON
The camera lens of Stefanos and Maria of SteMajourneys caught a rare sight in the early morning: a Loggerhead sea turtle nesting! The volunteers in Chania took action right away to protect the nest.
- OUR NEWS26/04/2024
Protecting sea turtles in Rethymno- Our Ocean, an Ocean of Potential
The 9th International Conference "Our Ocean", which was held in Athens from April 15 to 17, was successfully completed. ARCHELON had the honor to actively take part in the conference and hosted a side event.
- OUR NEWS12/04/2024
Coordination for the protection of sea turtles in Rethymno: Local authorities and tourism businesses join forces
The meeting, which took place on April 5, 2024, in the building of the Regional Unit of Rethymno, touched upon key issues, such as the observance of conservation measures for the protection of the Loggerhead sea turtle. Given the tourist activity on the nesting beaches, the active participation of the tourism sector in the implementation of the measures is necessary.
- OUR NEWS10/04/2024
"Tourists and turtles?" The environmental awareness campaign of ARCHELON spreads to the nesting beaches of the Loggerhead sea turtle
After the pandemic, ARCHELON - the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece - is once again mobilizing on the path to sustainable tourism. The aim of the new campaign is to provide information on the appropriate code of conduct for visitors to all nesting beaches, in cooperation with the tourism sector.
- OUR NEWS04/04/2024
LIFE MareNatura - The largest marine biodiversity program in Greece
- OUR NEWS03/04/2024
Citizens inform us of sea turtle strandings
ARCHELON started the effort to record the incidents of dead turtles washing up on the Greek shores in 1992. In recent years there has been an increase in these records which may be due to more of our fellow citizens reporting such incidents. Learn more…
- OUR NEWS19/03/2024
Contributing to international developments on sea turtle research and conservation
In the past, members of ARCHELON were actively involved in the elaboration of the Global Strategy for the Conservation of Marine Turtles, published in 1995, and nowadays three of our collaborators participate in the writing of the revised guidebook “Research and Management Techniques for the Conservation of Sea Turtles”.
- OUR NEWS08/03/2024
The Over & Above Awards for 2023
These are the ARCHELON Over & Above Awards for 2023.
- OUR NEWS04/03/2024
The moving experience of Frederique at the Rescue Centre
At ARCHELON, you'll have the opportunity to meet and work together with new people and form lasting friendships - a major benefit of volunteering.
- OUR NEWS29/02/2024
Presentation of ARCHELON 2023 Results: Here is some good news!
On Thursday February 15th, 2024, ARCHELON’s annual Presentation of Results took place downtown, at the Impact Hub Athens. When welcoming members, staff, collaborators, friends and volunteers, Daphne Mavrogiorgos, Director of ARCHELON, spoke about the multi-leveled action of ARCHELON during 2023.
- OUR NEWS02/02/2024
Sea turtles in the Greek wetlands of international importance
World Wetlands Day is celebrated every year on February 2. These vulnerable areas of the planet are a refuge for migratory birds and other wildlife species, including sea turtles. ARCHELON is present in wetlands that play an important role for sea turtles, such as the Amvrakikos Gulf.
- OUR NEWS24/01/2024
Why are ARCHELON’s projects international?
ARCHELON’s sea turtle conservation projects are organized with the valuable contribution of volunteers who come to Greece every year not just from Europe but from more distant places such as South Korea, Australia, and Colombia. Speaking English while carrying out fieldwork or public awareness activities as well as when interacting with each other in the campsites is essential to the projects.
- OUR NEWS17/01/2024
ARCHELON has been running a special hospital for sea turtles with tanks and impressive old train wagons for 30 years in Glyfada
Turtles with IV and bandages, rehabilitation and recovery tanks, special environmental enrichment equipment, recovery greenhouses, and… renovated train wagons! The hospital for injured and sick turtles that ARCHELON has set up in the 3rd marina of Glyfada, next to the sea, is certainly something out of the ordinary.