For nearly 25 years, Charikleia Minotou has dedicated her life to studying sea turtles on Zakynthos, an Ionian island that holds one of the Mediterranean’s most vital nesting sites.

Over this time, Minotou has become convinced that nature finds ways of “sending messages,” and what she’s observed recently has been beyond her expectations. Along the shores of Sekania, famously dubbed the Mediterranean’s largest “maternity ward” for loggerhead sea turtles, record numbers of nests and hatchlings have emerged, marking a stunning resurgence for the Caretta caretta species.

“The message sea turtles are sending is very clear,” said Minotou, who coordinates the WWF programme in the protected area. “And that is the measures we have taken over the past 25 years to ensure conditions are right for the marine turtles to nest here are working … It’s fantastic.”

Sea turtles, among the oldest species on Earth, have been around for over 100 million years. Although they migrate across thousands of miles, females always return to their birth sites, 20 to 25 years later, to lay eggs. This precise reproductive cycle is in full display at Sekania and other nesting areas in Zakynthos and Greece, where turtles tagged at birth by conservationists are now returning to lay their eggs.

“It’s hugely moving,” says Minotou, a sustainable development expert who highlights that technological advances, such as CCTV cameras, have helped keep predators like seagulls and ghost crabs at bay.

“This year more than 1,200 nests have been recorded in Sekania, which is one every 50cm of beach. An amazing number.”

From Spain to Cyprus, sea turtle nesting in the Mediterranean has reached record highs, a testament to the hard work of environmentalists who fought tirelessly to protect a species that was once on the brink of extinction. With only one in 1,000 hatchlings surviving to adulthood, this turnaround is even more remarkable.

In Greece, which hosts around 60% of Caretta caretta nests in the Mediterranean, the rebound has been significant. According to Archelon, the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece, nests have risen from an average of 5,000 to 7,000 annually to over 10,000 since 2023.

“Throughout the 2000s, we were registering annual declines of about 6% on Crete, for example,” said Dr Aliki Panagopoulou, research coordinator for Archelon, the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece. “Now we are looking at a dramatic increase in nest numbers, the result of decades of conservation efforts. Our strategy has always been to make sure that as many hatchlings as possible get to the water and are recruited to the population.”

This resurgence has coincided with the establishment of a state-funded marine park on Zakynthos, now the largest turtle nesting ground in Greece alongside the bay of Kyparissia in the Peloponnese. Previously, Greek authorities had paid little attention to the plight of sea turtles, whose survival is now recognised as essential for the health of marine ecosystems and the region’s biodiversity.

Veteran conservationist Lily Venizelos remembers the dangers turtles once faced all too vividly. The founder of Medasset, the Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtles, Venizelos spent decades advocating for protective policies amid growing tourism. Speedboat propellers, beach furniture, and other human activities once posed major threats to marine turtles. Venizelos, now in her 90s, recalls lobbying Greek governments for policies to prevent the Caretta caretta from succumbing to these dangers.

“I spent years when they were endangered running around different ministries with pieces of paper because back then no one cared to listen,” she recalled. “It’s been the most wonderful news, at my age, to find out that the Caretta caretta are no longer so threatened, but it’s crucial protective measures continue to be enforced. One false move and everything could be lost.”

Today, the appeal of Greece’s beaches and marine life is drawing record numbers of tourists. By 2028, Greece aims to attract 40 million holidaymakers, nearly four times its population, while some travel companies advertise “last-chance tours” to sites threatened by climate change and over-tourism. For Venizelos, the effects of mass tourism are catastrophic for these delicate ecosystems.

“On the one hand, the EU wants to protect the species and, on the other, organisations are taking tourists on these ‘last chance’ tours,” she lamented. “It makes no sense at all.”

Since its founding, Medasset has focused on raising awareness of marine turtles’ plight across the Mediterranean, creating connections from Greece to Sardinia, Albania, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, and Libya. Their headquarters in Athens has become a hub for conservation efforts, while their research and educational programs continue to grow. In recent years, Medasset has expanded its outreach to educate both young students and older adults, strengthening the public’s connection to sea turtles and the need to protect them.

However, conservationists caution against complacency. Climate change, overfishing, pollution, and discarded plastics are rising threats that could undo the progress made. Some officials, they warn, may use the turtles’ recent rebound as a reason to avoid further protective measures, especially in tourism-dependent countries like Greece.

While the record resurgence of loggerhead turtles is cause for celebration, conservationists stress that it should not be a reason to ease protective measures. Instead, it’s a reminder of the ongoing need for vigilance and action to preserve the fragile ecosystems that support these ancient mariners.

“There’s no doubt that across the Mediterranean, the increase in the Caretta caretta population is a nature-based reaction to all the conservation efforts of NGOs over the last few decades,” said Nadia Andreanidou, Medasset’s programmes and policy officer. “But now, more than ever, we need the support of the government to implement the laws we have pushed for if we are to build on the momentum and keep this extraordinary animal out of danger. The threats are still very much there, and it could all so easily unravel.”

 

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