Looking back turtles were always there. From the earliest time in my life, my first cuddly toy, that I just could not sleep without, was a turtle!

The increased human presence and activities, particularly the uncontrolled tourism development, pose the greatest threats Caretta caretta nesting habitats face and the greatest challenges to their survival.

It's been since 2008 that the MINOAN LINES company support ARCHELON’s program in Herakleio for the protection of the sea turtles that make their nests, each year, on the sandy beaches of the Messara Bay, at the southern part of the Heraklio Prefecture.

For the past summers information was coming continuously about random nesting of Caretta caretta sea turtles on the coastal area of Astros Kynourias, at the eastern part of the Peloponnesus peninsula.

As it happens each year, the sea turtles travel hundreds to thousands of miles to gather again at the nesting beaches. Although it’s a journey that consumes plenty of their energy, it’s absolutely necessary for their breeding as they nest at the same beach they were born.

The small caretta named "Filippos" arrived at the Rescue Center from Volos 10 months ago with a fisherman’s hook stuck in his body. The volunteers at the Center took good care of him and finally the time came to release him.

Each year, more than 500 volunteers come from around the globe to take part in ARCHELON’s programs; they are our driving force and we value their altruistic contribution, ideas and work.

ARCHELON’ s volunteers watched with great enthusiasm 10 newly hatched sea turtles heading for the water on a beach of Rethymno, Crete.

Its name is “Kaveiros”, a male turtle with a carved carapace length of 69 cm that was transported from Samothraki to ARCHELON’s Sea Turtles Rescue Centre, for further rehabilitation and eventual release, exactly one year ago.

“Manolis” is the name of a young sea turtle arrived at the Rescue Centre from Crete on March 19, bearing a severe trauma on the right fore flipper. It weighted 6 kilos and its arched carapace length was just 40 cm.

The high biodiversity of Amvrakikos Bay and its great ecological value could not lack the presence of one more emblematic species of the Greek fauna, the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta).

The gulf of Laganas in Zakynthos is the biggest biotope for the reproduction of the Caretta Caretta in the Mediterranean-sea.

On June 2nd 2009, a few days after Zakynthos and Kyparissia, we spotted the first sea turtles nests in Rethymno.

The training seminar for sea turtles rescuers completed successfully on Saturday 30th of May. The seminar took place in ARCHELON’s Rescue Centre in Glyfada.

On May 30, just four days after the first nest in Zakynthos, ARCHELON’s field volunteers spotted the first sea turtle nest for the year 2009 at the southern part of the Kyparissia Bay.

May 23rd has been declared as the World Sea Turtle Day!