Nikoletta Sidiropoulou and her colleagues at the Sea Turtle Conservation Society Greece (Archelon) Crowded on Marathonisi beach, carefully digging the sand. Eventually they found what they were looking for: a turtle nest with more than 100 eggs. “It’s really exciting,” Sidiropoulou said.
The endangered loggerhead turtle, or Carreta, Do their main nesting site on the Mediterranean island of Zakynthos-one of the most visited islands in Greece, with about 1 million tourists every year, including many British tourists.Mass tourism has Long-term threat of discord: Tourists often violate rules designed to keep them away from the nest. But new research shows that the Covid-19 pandemic has allowed these turtles to breathe air.
Researchers found that the behavior of the loggerhead turtles has changed after the number of tourists and boats has dropped dramatically in 2020. , In their golden breeding season (May to June). But in 2020, sea turtles will stay in warmer waters “even when the sea temperature elsewhere reaches the optimum temperature.”
ResearchResearch funded by Queen Mary University of London and Deakin University of Australia shows that “increased tourism pressure, not temperature” may drive sea turtles out of the sea, “the potential cost is [turtles] It is impossible to obtain the best thermal conditions for accelerating egg maturation and shortening the spawning interval”.
In fact, 2020 is a record year for the number of nests discovered in Zakynthos. Archelon recorded 1,800 nests, making it the third highest nest for the organization in 38 years on the island.
Proving the link between turtle behavior and the decline in tourism during Covid is not straightforward. “It’s really hard to see what the exact impact is [of tourism] It’s on the turtle. They are forced into deeper waters, [that] This means that in theory they can produce fewer nests, but it is really difficult to prove this,” said Gail Schofield, a wildlife ecology researcher and one of the authors of the report.
However, she added: “It is definitely easier for them to come out and build a nest because they have no obstacles on the beach at night, such as sunbeds, umbrellas or anything else. [there] In the tourist season. “
The wheezing may be short-lived.The tourism industry has returned to Zakynthos, especially after the British government relaxed its policies Quarantine restrictions on July 19, The island is again packed with party lovers and dozens of motor boats in Laganas Bay.
As part of the Zakynthos National Marine Park, the breeding grounds of sea turtles are theoretically protected, but violations of the rules occur from time to time. According to Sidiropoulou, dozens of tourists disembarked illegally on the beach. They were separated from the turtle nests by ropes, and speedboats were often spotted following turtles swimming in the bay.
“Zakynthos has many young tourists-most of them don’t even know that sea turtles nest on the beach, so they are not familiar with the regulations,” Sidiropoulou said.
Laurent Sourbes, the coordinator of Zakynthos National Marine Park, believes that the only solution is to fine the offenders, but more resources are needed.
“We can’t do this ourselves, we need the Coast Guard,” he said. However, only one ship and thousands of tourists and ships need to be monitored, and the capacity of the Zakynthos Coast Guard is limited.
This week, the World Wide Fund for Nature found a dead sea turtle floating next to the island’s main port. It was apparently hit by a ship’s propeller. Earlier this summer, two turtles were also killed by a ship.
“Now [government] Two ships are being brought to the Coast Guard, but unfortunately you have to wait for the turtles to be killed,” Sourbes said.
Demetres Karavellas, head of the WWF Greece branch, said that Zakynthos’ problems reflect the “broader challenges” of effective monitoring of the country’s protected marine areas.
“This is a huge challenge, especially for a country [that is] It also involves tourism. This is obviously not a priority,” Caravellas said.
Another beach in Zakynthos provides a model of how to proceed: Sekania Beach is the beach with the highest density of loggerhead sea turtles in the Mediterranean and is fully protected from all visitors.
Sidiropoulou believes that tourism and a healthy ecosystem can coexist, and argued with local authorities that a good first step is to study the number of boats that Laganas Bay can withstand, although she does not want this request to be granted.
“Usually we won’t get an answer, to be honest,” she said. “Zakynthos is a beautiful island, but we want visitors to respect nature and protect the species that have come here to lay eggs for millions of years,” she said.
