What is it that ARCHELON does, finally?

16/12/2019

ARCHELON is a very busy organization throughout the year, but December is especially a time of outreach for volunteers and fund raising. All our efforts contribute to the rescue and conservation of sea turtles in Greece. If you like what we do, join us and support us! But what is it that we do, in a nutshell?

ARCHELON volunteers record and protect about 5000 nests on nesting beaches every summer. We monitor about 140 km of coastline, but through our rescue network we maintain data on occasional sea turtle nesting and sightings from all over Greece. We monitor the movements of turtles at sea with simple tags and satellite tagging and we collect population data on feeding grounds. This information is combined with data from other countries and it is used to assess the conservation status of the loggerhead population in the Mediterranean.

We talk to people, the authorities, local businesses, tourists, schools about the conservation measures and monitor their implementation on the nesting beaches in Zakynthos, the Peloponnese and Crete. We talk to more than 120.000 tourists and people near the beach and more than 200 administrators at different levels every year. We collaborate with tour operators and hotel managers who support our aims and efforts. ARCHELON welcomes initiatives related to nature and sustainable tourism near the nesting beaches.

Aside from the nesting beaches, there is the Rescue network and the Sea Turtle Rescue Centre in Glyfada, near Athens. ARCHELON’s Rescue Centre is a year-round hub of activity. Dedicated staff and volunteers receive and treat more than 70 injured or sick sea turtles rescued throughout Greece annually. The causes of illness include swallowing marine litter, especially plastic debris, fishing lines and hooks. Injuries are due to accidental entanglement in fishing nets, collisions with speed boats or deliberate human actions.

More than half of the rescued animals are successfully rehabilitated and released back to their natural habitat, the sea. We are part of a national network for rescuing wildlife and also maintain collaboration with relevant experts from all over the world.

Treatment and rehabilitation of rescued sea turtles triggers public awareness on a number of environmental issues and we welcome students, groups, families on special educational tours. More than 12,000 schoolchildren are attending our educational programs every year. ARCHELON volunteers are always keen to share their experience with visitors during the open hours of the Rescue Centre.