Cyprus’ sea turtles have started their annual egg-laying along the coastline, with the fisheries department urging the public to help protect the nests.
“Each turtle nest can contain approximately 80-100 eggs,” Fisheries department officer Maria Christou said, stressing the need not only of the the animals themselves, but also for their eggs, and their habitats.
Christou highlighted that due to various dangers, only one in every 1,000 hatchlings survives to adulthood. This low survival rate is attributed to both natural factors, such as predation by foxes, crabs, fish, and birds, and human activities that threaten sea turtle populations.
Said threats, the fisheries officer said, included nest disturbance/destruction, marine pollution, light pollution, beach erosion and climate change in their nesting areas – including protected areas like Lara-Toxeftra and Polis-Gialia.
“These two areas are the most important habitats for sea turtles in Cyprus and are protected under the fisheries law and the relevant regulations and are included in the Natura 2000 Network,” she said.
In Cyprus there are two species of sea turtles, the loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and the green turtle (Chelonia mydas). Both swim in the waters but come out to beaches to lay their eggs along the Cypriot coastline.
The nesting season began two weeks ago with the first nests identified on the beaches of Polis Chrysochous.
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