The Mediterranean province of Antalya banned nighttime visits and camping on three prominent beaches until September, in a bid to protect endangered loggerhead sea turtles, also known as Caretta carettas. The beaches are prominent breeding grounds for the turtles and their nesting season has already began.
From 8 p.m. in the evening until sunrise, the Çıralı, Olimpos and Patara beaches will be closed to nighttime swimmers and campers and those violating the ban will be fined $6,737 (TL 109,785).
Mediterranean beaches, particularly those in Antalya, a popular vacation destination, are home to the habitats of loggerhead sea turtles and green sea turtles, two species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) endangered species “red list.” The beaches draw a large number of holidaymakers too, camping out against the backdrop of pristine Mediterranean waters.
In Patara, which stretches for 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) in Antalya’s Kaş district, professor Eyüp Başkale and biologist Ayfer Şirin lead a team of 14 volunteers for the preservation of sea turtles. Throughout the nesting and hatching season, they monitor the turtles and register every one of them in their database for better surveillance of the species. Last year, they observed 957 Caretta carettas along the beach, which was home to 316 nests, and counted some 16,980 baby turtles taking their first steps toward their main habitat: the Mediterranean Sea. Since May 15, the volunteers have been touring the beach, erecting signs in Turkish and English urging beachgoers not to harm the nesting grounds.
Başkale told Demirören News Agency (DHA) on Wednesday that campers and people driving on the beach damage the nests but most people appear to be cautious, noting only a few people were fined last year. This year, the local Directorate of Protection of Natural Assets set up a perimeter on the beach, dividing the potential nesting area from other areas commonly used by swimmers and campers, with signs warning not to get closer to the nests. Başkale says inspection crews were running daily patrols to protect the nests as well.
So far, the volunteers saw turtles building two nests, far less than the nine built in the same period last year, but Başkale says the low number is likely the result of “changing climate conditions” that delayed the arrival of turtles.
