Caretta carettas under protection on Turkish coasts

Sea turtles, known as caretta carettas, began laying eggs on the coasts as the egg laying season begins in Turkey. The turtle nests on the coasts are being protected by volunteers Endangered caretta carettas and the green turtles (chelonia mydas), which are under protection, began laying eggs on the coast in the southern province of Hatay’s Samandağ district.

As the egg laying season has started for the sea turtles, hundreds of turtle nests began to appear on the Samandağ coast, the longest in Turkey with 14.5 kilometers. Samandağ District Governor’s Office Scientific Research Center official and Sivas Cumhuriyet University member Bektaş Sönmez said that the egg laying season had started in June and they had so far determined some 300 nests, expecting it to reach 500 until the end of the season.

Sönmez said the turtles would continue to lay eggs until the end of June and the hatchings would continue from the beginning of August to the end of September. Sönmez said they were also struggling against some problems threatening the turtle nests.

“We are working to protect these nests. Among these problems is coastal erosion, water flooding, predatory animals such as jackals and foxes, and lights that disorient baby turtles and cause them to travel away from the sea. This year, we are trying to protect turtle nests with cages above and under the sand. These precautionary measures are carried out in collaboration with the National Parks General Directorate and Samandağ Environmental Protection and Tourism Association. Volunteer university students from different Turkish towns support these efforts,” Sönmez said.

He said the main goal on the coast was to...