Last nest excavation in Kyparissia Bay
The ARCHELON team in Kyparissia Bay has successfully completed the monitoring and protection of sea turtle nesting for 2022. More than 3,700 nests were recorded on 14.5 km of beach which was surveyed daily by the researchers/ volunteers of the project. “We received a total of 61 volunteers during the whole season,” says Michalis Souroulidis, the Project Manager of the Kyparissia project.
“The daily tasks were equally distributed to the team, so everyone got to see and handle sea turtles, nests, or hatchlings, as well as a chance to talk to people visiting the area”, says Eleftheria Psichomani, the Public Awareness leader of Kyparissia project.
Many people on the beaches asked questions and were supportive of the team, especially during the nest excavations. These excavations were carried out after the nests had hatched, in order to determine their hatching success. The last nest was excavated on Monday, September 26th and its hatching success was 75,5%, which is within the normal range (see photos).
ARCHELON has been carrying out monitoring of the reproduction of sea turtles and public awareness activities in Kyparissia Bay, every year since the beginning of the 80s. The area is acknowledged to be home to the largest reproductive population of loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) in the Mediterranean. The Nature Protection Area of Kyparissia Bay was established in 2018, but there are still pressures and threats to the habitats and species found there.
The volunteers registered repeatedly disturbance of the nesting of sea turtles on several spots of the beach. Loud music, human presence, and sunbeds/ umbrellas remaining during the night on the beach demonstrated that local businesses as well as free campers did not pay enough attention to the protection measures in place.
“The numbers of beach furniture, the levels of light pollution and the noise in the village of Kalo Nero, as well as in some other spots of the beach, were so high that these nests and hatchlings would not have survived without the ARCHELON project. “I am grateful to everyone who participated. Despite the difficulties and the intense workload, everyone kept working. We all felt tired, but, together, we made it: we recorded and protected all nests and hatchlings”.
While the Kyparissia team is wrapping up the project and will get a well-deserved rest, ARCHELON staff is preparing the call for volunteers for the 2023 nesting season, soon to appear on the website.
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RECENT NEWS
- OUR NEWS02/05/2024
Sea Turtle Festival for Kids 2024
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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
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- OUR NEWS26/04/2024
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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
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- OUR NEWS02/02/2024
Sea turtles in the Greek wetlands of international importance
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- 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.
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ARCHELON has been running a special hospital for sea turtles with tanks and impressive old train wagons for 30 years in Glyfada
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