We were delighted to receive members, old and new volunteers and staff as well as friends from other environmental organizations at this ARCHELON event in Plaka, center of Athens, on January 30th.

A local consultation meeting on the proposed Action Plan for the 3 species of sea turtles found in the Mediterranean and in the Greek coasts in particular, was hosted by the Regional Unit of Rethymnon, Crete, on the 3rd of February. Rethymnon is one of the nesting sites for sea turtles in Greece.

Thanks to ARCHELON’s nationwide sea turtle Stranding Network, anglerfish were recorded as opportunistic predators of sea turtles in the Med for the first time. A juvenile loggerhead turtle was found in the stomach of an anglerfish! Here is the story...

This short report, submitted to the European Commission and the National authorities, presents the main events in the efforts to protect the nesting habitats of Loggerhead sea turtles in the island of Crete, Greece during 2019.
 

From the pool of applications for Field Leaders, we will also select a small number of Coordinators for the projects. The deadline for applying for Field Leaders is approaching!

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?

Through the Rescue Network, ARCHELON’s volunteers take care of 15 sea turtles entangled to fishing nets on average every year. Last August, however, the Zakynthos team was surprised to observe a loggerhead laying her nest on Kalamaki beach, with her front flipper tightly wrapped in a fishing net. This is adding to the evidence of the impacts of abandoned fishing nets in the Mediterranean on sea turtles.
 

Twenty “turtlers” responded to this call, reached mountain Tymphristos, a 4- hour- drive from Athens, and gathered in the mountain shelter Velouchi (1850 m. alt) on 1-3 November. You could argue that the place was too far from sea turtles. That’s right – we wanted it to be far enough from the beach and we succeeded!

In less than 100 km of sandy beaches in Greece, one can find almost 50% of the loggerhead nests laid in the Mediterranean. The fate of these eggs and nests rests with human vigilance. Unless they are protected, the population of the loggerhead in the Mediterranean will drop sharply within a few years.

Upon completion of the ARCHELON program for 2019 in the Kyparissia Bay, the annual report for the region is now published.
 

This short report, submitted to the European Commission, the Standing Committee of Bern Convention and the Ministry of Environment and Energy presents the main events in the efforts to protect the Loggerhead Sea Turtles in the National Marine Park of Zakynthos.
 

ARCHELON has published the call for field leaders for 2020 and the application deadline is 9 January 2020. “We understand that many of the people interested to become field leaders and spend from 3 to 6 months on the beaches, need to plan early” says Reggina Stefanatou, the Project Coordinator of ARCHELON, who is responsible for their selection.
 

A dedicated team of ARCHELON volunteers participated in the children's festival P100-Planet Technopolis with great success! Meanwhile, ARCHELON's educational programs for the new school year have already begun at the Rescue Centre.
 

We are sad to report that once more the touristic attraction of “turtle spotting” was fatal for a male loggerhead turtle resident in the area, which had been tagged and photographed by ARCHELON and was also known by the name “Hercules”.