29/02/2024

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 main focus was the ARCHELON volunteering conservation and rescue projects, but we managed to have an effective participation in collaborative projects with other NGOS as well. She warmly thanked everyone for their work during the previous year.

Daphne Mavrogiorgos and Michalis Souroulidis talk on the annual presentation of ARCHELON 2023

The presentation started with the "field projects", i.e. to the nesting beaches, where ARCHELON covered a total of approximately 100 km of the Greek coastline. In 2023, the recording and protection of nests and hatchlings was done with the help of 450 committed volunteers from all over the world. In total, in Zakynthos, Peloponnese and Crete we recorded more than 10,000 nests, which is almost double the average number of the previous decade! We cannot ignore the fact that many of these turtles laying eggs today were the hatchlings that were protected 25-30 years ago.

However, not all was easy for the turtles. There was an increase in beach furniture on the nesting beaches during the summer, which reached pre-pandemic levels. As we all know, if left on the beach at night, beach umbrellas and sunbeds reduce the space available for mother turtles to nest on the beach. In Rethymno and Chania, 50% and 35% respectively of businesses that had sunbeds complied with their removal at night, facilitating sea turtle nesting.

Presentation of Results in ARCHELON

As important as the work of protection is, so is raising public awareness on the nesting beaches, in order to let people know and respect the special habitat they are visiting. In 2023, ARCHELON volunteers operated a total of 8 Information Stations and held 590 informative presentations on the code of conduct of beach visitors in hotel units. The Stations were located in the city of Zakynthos, Kalo Nero and Agiannakis in Messinia, Koroni, Mavrovouni in Laconia, Rethymno, Chania and Matala in Crete.

2023 was a very important year for the ARCHELON Sea Turtle Rescue Centre in Glyfada, Attica as well. After 30 years of operation the Rescue Centre received the status of a Wildlife Care Center. A total of 43 new arrivals of injured or sick sea turtles at the Centre was announced, mainly referring to Loggerheads (Caretta caretta) and a few Green turtles (Chelonia mydas). Most of these incidents involved fishing gear and, fortunately, incidents of intentional injury were decreased. In summer and autumn, 22 turtles returned to the sea after treatment. At the same time, the infrastructure of the Centre was largely upgraded and it is now possible to accommodate more injured animals as well as to develop new partnerships in various fields.

In parallel with rescue and rehabilitation, environmental education activities continued with enthusiasm at the Rescue Centre. During the 2022-2023 school year, the Centre welcomed approximately 12,000 students and teachers, who were guided in person or online and discussed about sea turtles and the environment. Also, an additional 13,000 young and old visitors, Greeks and foreigners, were informed about our work and learned about the effort to protect these special animals.

July, August  (6).png

Of course, none of ARCHELON's projects and activities would be possible without the help of dedicated volunteers, who decided to devote time and effort to sea turtle conservation and rescue in Greece. Every one acknowledged the 540 volunteers of 2023, who joined us in our vision for a better and sustainable planet. “Congratulations for an impressive effort made in order to record and protect a big number of sea turtle nests this year. Well done for having rescued many turtles, while at the same time successfully carrying out the awareness campaigns and educational activities at the Rescue Center and in the field projects”, said Thomas Arapis, the President of ARCHELON. "As in previous years, there are a few volunteers who went the extra mile and we want to honor them with the Over & Above Awards", he continued and announced the names and achievements for 67 volunteers.

The event ended with an entertaining video with highlights from the past year, the traditional New Year’s “Vassilopita” and a glass of wine, giving everyone time to discuss the results that impressed them the most. “Until next year, ARCHELON!’ The Presentation of Results in English will take place online on March 5th, at 8pm EET- Athens (Greek time). Those interested can register here.

RECENT NEWS

  1. OUR NEWS
    29/08/2025

    Turtle Run in Chania: Lace up your running shoes and get ready!

    September 7th, Chania: Join the event and support the protection of one of the most iconic marine species in the Mediterranean.

    Read more
  2. OUR NEWS
    27/08/2025

    Citizens Help us Map Sea Turtle Sporadic Nesting in the Ionian Sea

    This study is particularly important as it highlights the power of citizen science. Public eyes on beaches, outreach through online platforms and new reporting tools are expanding our understanding of turtle nesting beyond the beaches we monitor.

    Read more
  3. OUR NEWS
    20/08/2025

    A nesting turtle brings hope amidst a night of fire

    After a 12-hour period filled with fear and uncertainty, the family witnessed a miracle of nature. “It brought us peace and reminded us of what is important”.

    Read more
  4. OUR NEWS
    14/08/2025

    ARCHELON’s Life-Saving Chain with the Support of the Green Fund

    Thanks to persistence, medication, daily care, and a great deal of patience, “Snowball” gradually moved from a critical state to full recovery.

    Read more
  5. OUR NEWS
    31/07/2025

    ATTENTION! Please do not feed sea turtles – They are not pets- Protect them from human induced impacts

    ARCHELON informs that the phenomenon of feeding sea turtles by people in coastal areas, ports and tourist spots has been observed in recent years. Despite good intentions, this practice causes serious problems – for turtles and for people alike.

    Read more
  6. OUR NEWS
    25/07/2025

    New Info Station in Kyparissia Opens for LIFE MareNatura Project

    Located at the beachfront of the town, the Info Station operates daily 18:30 - 21:00.

    Read more
  7. OUR NEWS
    21/07/2025

    Public Excavations of Sea Turtle Nests in Crete

    The excavations are open for both kids and adults and take place on the nesting beaches of Rethymno, Chania, and the Messara Bay during the months of August and September.

    Read more
  8. OUR NEWS
    21/07/2025

    Public Excavations of Sea Turtle Nests in the Peloponnese

    The excavations are open for both kids and adults and take place on the nesting beaches of Kyparissia Bay, Romanos, Koroni and Lakonikos Bay during the months of August and September.

    Read more
  9. OUR NEWS
    16/07/2025

    Earlier than ever before was the start of the 2025 Hatching Season of Loggerheads in Greece – The first hatchlings have reached the sea!

    We are excited to announce the beginning of the 2025 sea turtle hatching season, with the earliest hatching event ever recorded since monitoring began in 1984.

    Read more
  10. OUR NEWS
    15/07/2025

    Important presentations at the 16th International Congress on the Zoogeography and Ecology of Greece and Adjacent Regions (ICZEGAR)

    ARCHELON actively contributed to the Congress with three oral presentations, highlighting key aspects of its scientific and conservation work for sea turtles.

    Read more
  11. OUR NEWS
    09/07/2025

    Inspections in Zakynthos and Kyparissia by representatives of the Bern Convention

    The experts were in Greece to monitor the implementation of the Recommendations adopted by the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention to our country regarding the protection of the Loggerhead sea turtle and the ongoing threats faced by the species in its largest breeding habitats in the Mediterranean.

    Read more
  12. OUR NEWS
    02/07/2025

    Citizen Science: Recording of Sporadic Nesting of Sea turtles across the Aegean

    For over four decades, many people have been reporting turtle sightings and tracks across the Greek coastline. Thanks to them, we have confirmed 577 unique nesting events outside our regularly monitored areas

    Read more
  13. OUR NEWS
    01/07/2025

    Satellite Tagging Completed and Captured on Film in Crete

    ARCHELON has just successfully completed the 2025 deployment of satellite transmitters on Loggerhead Sea Turtles (Caretta caretta) in Crete, as part of the ongoing LIFE MareNatura Project. This year’s work in Crete was extra special: the LIFE MareNatura Documentary team joined us in the field!

    Read more
  14. OUR NEWS
    23/06/2025

    Enjoy the Beaches Responsibly: Together We Protect the Sea Turtles of Kyparissia Bay!

    So far, more than 2,000 nests have been recorded in the area. In order to best manage the protected beaches, we have adapted our field work protocols.

    Read more
  15. OUR NEWS
    16/06/2025

    World Sea Turtle Day: We can all live together!

    Today, June 16th, we celebrate World Sea Turtle Day. On this occasion, ARCHELON expresses its warmest thanks to all citizens, volunteers, donors and supporters who actively contribute to our work.

    Read more
1 out of 0
Subscribe to our newsletter!
Learn about our latest actions and find out about our programs and how you can help sea turtles!