Loggerhead hatchlings found their way to the sea despite the intense light pollution in Rethymnon
On the 10th of October, the ARCHELON team closed down the Rethymnon campsite for the winter and embarked on the 12-hour journey back to Athens after 5 months of intense work protecting the sea turtle nesting beaches.
Lydia Koutrouditsou, ARCHELON’s Project manager for Crete says: “The determination of the volunteers and researchers who joined the project in 2022 was impressive. They surveyed 11 km of beach daily and protected about 170 sea turtle nests, amidst thousands of tourists. They also managed to inform about 14, 000 visitors through hotel presentations, beach walks, and at the Information Station of ARCHELON in the town of Rethymnon. We are grateful for their passion to protect the sea turtles and talk to the people about the issues related to their conservation”.
70 volunteers joined the project in total, each staying for 5 weeks or more, from late May until mid-October, with some of them joining for the second time. They received training from the field leaders: Mia Kotzageorgi (Monitoring Coordinator), Kotsiras Kostas, Sam Finlayson, De Wit Lieke, Fergus Lang (Monitoring Leaders), Grace McFlane, Alicia Kolhosser (Public Awareness Leaders) Aspetaki Eleni (Public Awareness Coordinator). “A big thank you to the Coordinators and the Field leaders, who contributed their experience and hard work to the project. We could not have made it without you" adds Lydia.
The beach of Rethymnon hosts the largest number of loggerhead turtle nests on the island of Crete. ARCHELON has documented a significant decrease in the number of nests since 2020, through long-term monitoring on this site.
Beach furniture and lights on the beach during the summer nights, when sea turtles emerge from the sea to lay their eggs, disturb nesting females and hatchlings. The presence of ARCHELON on the nesting beach of Rethymnon is essential to the nesting sea turtles and the survival of the hatchlings. Team members locate the nests and place protective cages over them to avoid trampling by beach users. Just before the hatchling season, the team place creates “shading” around each nest in order to help baby turtles avoid disorientation by the intense lights and reach the sea safely.
“We will soon start preparing for the 2023 projects, hoping to receive many enthusiastic volunteers and field leaders and maintain the high quality of the projects. We need to protect the nests and hatchlings every year, in order to help restore the sea turtle nesting population in Rethymnon” concludes Lydia.
If you would like to become a volunteer and join the ARCHELON team at Rethymnon, for the 2023 nesting season, make sure to keep an eye out on our website.
ARCHELON’s Rescue Centre counts 27 recovered sea turtle releases since early June!
Threats for sea turtles persist in Zakynthos, despite having saved the nests for 2022
RECENT NEWS
- OUR NEWS26/06/2024
Sea Turtles Surprise us: if you see tracks on the beach, help ARCHELON's research!
Not all beaches on Greece's extensive coastline are suitable for sea turtle nesting, but sometimes these marine reptiles surprise us! This summer, ARCHELON is asking for your help to investigate a phenomenon called "sporadic nesting".
- OUR NEWS17/06/2024
ATTENTION! Sea turtles are not pets: Do not touch them or feed them!
In areas where a sea turtle associates human presence with food, it’s behavior changes. The turtle treats humans as well as other turtles as competitors in its feeding grounds and tries to drive them away with bites.
- OUR NEWS16/06/2024
30 Years of Hope: The Sea Turtle Rescue Centre of ARCHELON Celebrates World Sea Turtle Day
Every year on June 16th, we celebrate World Sea Turtle Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness about these magnificent creatures and the threats they face. This year is particularly important for ARCHELON, as the Sea Turtle Rescue Centre marks 30 years of operation.
- OUR NEWS13/06/2024
Poster contest for children and young adults: Welcome the 2024 turtle hatchlings on the beaches!
Watercolors, markers, collage, computer, phone? Everything is useful. Use your creativity and imagination to make an A3 or A4 size poster announcing that the 2024 sea turtle eggs are about to hatch.
- OUR NEWS17/05/2024
Amvrakikos Project 2024: Special Call for a Field Leader
ARCHELON is looking for a highly motivated person to lead its project in Amvrakikos Gulf, one of the few foraging sites for loggerhead turtles in Greece linking several populations nesting across the Mediterranean region.
- OUR NEWS16/05/2024
Τhe nesting of loggerhead sea turtles started earlier this year and the effects of the climate crisis on the oceans are worrying
For the first time, in the 40 years of ARCHELON records, the first sea turtle nest was found in Laganas Gulf, Zakythos on May 10th. Scientific predictions of the nesting season moving earlier in the spring due to climate change are being confirmed.
- OUR NEWS14/05/2024
Save Turtles, See Greece on a Budget
Dreaming of pristine Greek beaches and a chance to make a real difference? Here's why June and September are the perfect months to volunteer with sea turtle conservation efforts in Greece!
- 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…