The Zoological Station of Naples has launched a campaign to report sea turtle nests on the Campania coasts. Collaboration  started with the Amp of the Flegrean Islands.

The first nest in Campania dates back to twenty years ago. And since then the Loggerhead sea turtles have shown that they are increasingly convinced of entrusting the fate of their young to the beaches of Campania. So much so as to establish a record of depositions last year: over seventy, on a growing number of shores, from the extreme south of Cilento, which has been confirmed as their favorite area, up to the northern coasts, in the Gulf of Gaeta. And, for the first time, also on the island of Ischia, on the Chiaia beach, in Forio. A progressive change in habits for extremely habitual animals that is a consequence of the increasing sea temperatures. If, in fact, the Loggerhead turtle reproduced in the past only along the eastern and southern coasts of the basin, where it found temperatures suitable for brooding, the warming of the waters further north, has also made the coasts of southern Italy favorable, including those of Campania. On the other hand, the most widespread species of sea turtle in the Mediterranean is at home in our sea today just like it was when it went to reproduce elsewhere. Even if its presence is still unknown to most. So much so to suggest the need for greater and more widespread information and awareness on these ancient and important inhabitants of our sea. For this reason, on the occasion of the Day of the Sea, the Kingdom of Neptune Marine Protected Area and the "Anton Dohrn" Zoological Station in Naples, dedicated the opening of the program of initiatives to meetings on the theme organized in Ischia and Procida, also involving school groups.

Safeguard the reproduction of turtles

The Zoological Station, which has been studying marine tortoises for a long time and manages the recovery center reserved for them in Portici, has launched the "Caretta in vista”(Loggerhead in sight!) project, to be carried out with the collaboration of all those who frequent the sea and, obviously, of the Marine areas and territorial public parts. The northward shift of the breeding area, in fact, requires new attention and precautions, to safeguard the nests and, consequently, the births of new generations of the species no longer in extinction, but remaining highly vulnerable and at risk.

And they are very at risk, right on our coasts and surrounding waters. The very high anthropization on land and at sea multiplies the daily dangers from which adult specimens, mothers and even cubs must beware, before and after the hatching of the eggs. In front of the seventy nests dug in 2021, turtles have given up on nesting their eggs on shores that have proved inhospitable twice as often. When the beaches are completely occupied by bathing facilities; when the noise and light pollution is very high even at night when the Loggerheads rise from the sea to dig their nests; when the close human presence bothers them, they prefer to return to the sea and try again elsewhere. With considerable stress.

It is enough to say that, to avoid problems with embryos in the eggs with the turtle's movements to dig holes and lay, embryonic development naturally stops for twelve hours. So is necessary that the deposition takes place successfully within that time frame and the mother is committed to seeking the best conditions to do so. Not having any care commitments, her biological task ends in trying to ensure maximum egg yield, which means maximizing births after fifty days of brood. Because the Loggerhead lays hundreds of eggs every two years, even in more nests during the same summer (between June and July), but many do not hatch and on the beach the little turtles are already being killed by seagulls and other birds or by light signals that disorient them, pushing them away from the sea. And those who get to catch the wave are easy prey for all fish in the first years of life. So there are many eggs, but the percentage of animals managing to reach adulthood and the twenties that mark the age of reproduction are limited.

Multiply sightings and reports

Now that these turtles are choosing the shores of Campania more and more frequently to nest, it is necessary to be able to identify them as early as possible, to secure them and keep them safe until the eggs hatch. The Zoological Station through the Marine Protected Areas, starting with the "Kingdom of Neptune", aims to inform bathing operators and beach-goers, in order to avoid risky behaviors for mother turtles, for eggs and for young.

It is vital to identify the nests promptly, already in the early morning, before the beaches are occupied by the normal activities of use. The traces left by turtles resemble those of small crawlers from the sea and vice versa. In the coming days, appeals will be made to find volunteers who, in collaboration with the bathing operators and the municipalities for free beaches, will supervise the nests and circumscribe them until they hatch, without compromising the activities on the "beaches."

 

Turtles injured or in distress, here's who to warn

Collaboration and active participation of fishermen, sailors and swimmers are also necessary to save turtles in distress or injuries sighted at sea. "Never intervene directly and never release" fished "turtles into the sea - underlines the researcher Fulvio Maffucci - turtles can die of embolism if raised too quickly and can suffer fatal injuries if they are not treated, in any case of difficulties, by experts and specialized veterinarians ".

Therefore, when we come across Loggerhead turtles at risk, we must call 334 6424670, alerting who can help and save them. Many of them die in our sea, victims of unsustainable fishing, collisions with boats, pollution and deadly morsels of plastic. We need everyone's contribution to save these ancient marine creatures which are the litmus test of the health of our sea.