On 12th July a special event takes place at Crystal Beach in Kalamaki, Zakynthos: “Jasmin”, a female Caretta Caretta sea turtle, that had been found injured, is released back into the wild.

On 12th of June, “Jasmine” was found in the port of Agios Sostis, not diving and with fishing line entangled round her flipper. ARCHELON, The Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece, in collaboration with the National Marine Park of Zakynthos, had picked her up and, with the help of KTEL, transferred her to ARCHELON’s Sea Turtle Rescue Center in Glyfada, Athens. As x-rays showed no internal injuries or ingestion of fishing hooks, she recovered fast and after observation in a big tank was assessed healthy to return to her natural habitat. Her treatment as well as her journey back to Zakynthos was sponsored by Crystal Beach Hotel as well as Nefis Travel.

Today “Jasmin” will arrive in Zakynthos with the help of Aegean Airlines and at 17:30 in the afternoon she will arrive at Kalamaki beach, in front of Crystal Hotel, where once she is put down onto the sand, her instincts will tell her to walk back into the sea.

A sea turtle release is always a happy event for the volunteers of ARCHELON as well as for visitors and inhabitants of Zakynthos. Witnessing “Jasmin”’s first dive will be, for many people, a once-in-a-lifetime experience which they could only have in few other places of the world. But “Jasmin”’s story is also a reminder that the implementation of protection measures is essential to reduce the human impact on the island’s unique wildlife.

Today, besides “Jasmin”’s release, Zakynthos has also another reason to celebrate: On the morning of the 11th July, the volunteers of ARCHELON recorded the 1000th sea turtle nest of the season in Laganas Bay. ARCHELON aims at protecting sea turtles and their habitats in Greece through monitoring and research, developing and implementing management plans, habitat restoration, raising public awareness and rehabilitating sick and injured turtles. The organization has been monitoring the sea turtle nesting activity in Zakynthos for 34 years.

Receiving information about dead or injured see turtles helps ARCHELON to collect valuable data. If anyone finds a dead or injured turtle we ask them to call the Rescue Network numbers 210 8944444, 6941 511511 or the nearest coastguard station

Information: Anna Lamaj - Zakynthos Project Coordinator, Tel: 6940454976 / email: zakynth@archelon.gr