On Monday, April 7, we met for another year in the hospitable city of Rethymno to participate in the meeting organized by the Department of Environment and Hydroeconomics of the Regional Unit of Rethymno on the topic of management measures for the protection of the loggerhead sea turtle! The meeting was attended by local bodies, such as the Land Service, the Municipality and the Port Authority of Rethymno, as well as interested entrepreneurs from the tourism and catering sectors operating on the Rethymno coastline.

The attendees were welcomed to the meeting by the Deputy Governor of Rethymno, M. Lioni, with a brief greeting, while the Head of the Department, M. Nikoloudakis, presented the current environmental legislation regarding the management measures for the protection of the sea turtle. The nesting period lasts from May 1 to October 31, with regular inspections already starting from the beginning of May, confirmed Mr. Nikoloudakis.

Then, ARCHELON took the floor to present and explain the measures and good practices that must be followed so that the turtles can nest undisturbed this summer. “An important measure is to remove beach furniture after sunset and store it off the shore,” explains George Vrampas, ARCHELON’s Rethymno Project Manager. “Equally important is to deal with light pollution and disturbances at night,” he added, asking business owners and the municipality to turn off the lights and limit activities that cause noise and vibrations on the beach.

“When the measures are not followed, we have unfortunate results such as the trampling of disoriented hatchlings -an disturbing sight, not only for the sea turtles, but also for the local tourism product,” he concluded, emphasizing the value of respecting nature and the importance of transitioning to sustainable tourism.

The meeting concluded with statements, questions and discussion between the competent services and entrepreneurs.

ARCHELON's participation was carried out with the support of the TUI Care Foundation, within the framework of the "TUI Turtle Aid Greece" programme that is currently underway on the nesting beaches of Rethymno and Chania. "Indeed, this year, the effort to raise awareness among visitors continues with the implementation of informative SEA TURTLE BEACH WALKS with volunteers/researchers who protect the reproduction of turtles in Crete," says Danae Tsaparli, ARCHELON's Chania Project Manager.

We warmly thank the Rethymno Regional Office for this important initiative that is taking place in the region for the 10th consecutive year. We hope that such initiatives will spread to other nesting areas of the country.