Filenews 29 May 2022 - byAngelos Nikolaou
The issue of the protection of sea turtles in Cyprus is of even greater importance following the recent approval of Lara-Toxeftra as a Specially Protected Area of Mediterranean Importance (SPAMI) by the contracting parties to the Barcelona Convention. With the awarding of the SPAMI certificate in the context of an event for the International Day of Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance, in Monaco, it becomes even more imperative to preserve the important species that this unique region of Akamas hosts.
The official SPAMI certificate, which certifies that an area belongs to the list of the most important protected areas in the entire Mediterranean, was awarded to Cyprus and specifically to the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research (DFMR) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, along with 10 other Mediterranean countries that have established SPAMI. The evaluation is done every six years. And the certificates were awarded on May 20, 2022, at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco at a special event for the 1st International SPAMI Day, which was organized by the Centre for Regional Activity for Specially Protected Areas of the Mediterranean Action Plan of the United Nations Environment Programme, within the framework of the Barcelona Convention and was under the auspices of Prince Albert II of Monaco, who attended during the high-level section of the event and welcomed the 1st International SPAMI Day, titled "Together for the Protection of Mediterranean Biodiversity".
The director of DFMR, Marina Argyrou, participated in the event and received the official SPAMI Certificate for the protected area of Lara-Toxeftra. The Lara-Toxeftra protected area was approved in 2013 for inclusion in the SPAMI List by all Parties to the Barcelona Convention and in 2021 it was successfully evaluated during the first six-year review. The protected area of Lara-Toxeftra is an important nesting area of two emblematic protected species of the Mediterranean, the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) and the caretta caretta and contributes substantially to the conservation of these two species at a Mediterranean level.
The SPAMI List was created in November 2001, in Monaco, by the Parties to the Barcelona Convention, on the basis of the Protocol on Specially Protected Areas and Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean, where the only international SPAMI (Pelagos Sanctuary), founded by France, Italy and Monaco, was established.
Today, the List includes 39 SPAMI from 11 Mediterranean countries, out of a total of 1,233 Marine Protected Areas located in the Mediterranean. To be included in the SPAMI List, candidate marine and coastal protected areas must demonstrate a set of ecological, scientific, aesthetic, cultural or educational characteristics, following formal submission of proposals by the Parties concerned. Once approved and included in the List, SPAMI are tracked as part of rigorous periodic reviews that take place every six years.
Therefore, SPAMI is much more than just a label. SPAMI are the most important areas for the protection and conservation of the biodiversity of the Mediterranean. The establishment of SPAMI Day and the SPAMI Certificate have been adopted by the parties to the Barcelona Convention at the 22nd Conference of the Parties in 2021. International SPAMI Day is a day to celebrate SPAMI and expand and strengthen efforts to preserve the Mediterranean Sea.
Laid eggs
The Marine Protected Area of Lara-Toxeftra is a unique and particularly important area, since in its warm sand hatch the two endangered and strictly protected species of sea turtles. The area of Lara and Toxeftra beaches is one of the most important sea turtle breeding sites in Cyprus, the Mediterranean and Europe. The Republic of Cyprus has been protecting for decades the Marine Protected Area of Lara-Toxeftra with a special status that does not govern any other beach in Cyprus. And not by chance, since it is the area in which both species of sea turtles are hatched in significant numbers.
The nesting of turtles in the Marine Protected Area of Lara-Toxeftra is considered particularly high. According to the Annual Report of the Marine Turtle Protection and Monitoring Program, in 2020 in the Marine Protected Area of Lara-Toxeftra and more generally in the West Coast, 613 nests of the two species of sea turtles were identified, compared to 485 nests in 2019, 571 in 2018, 441 in 2017, 609 in 2016 and 330 in 2015. In addition, the 309 nests (97.48%) of the Green Turtle out of the 317 nests found on the West Coast and the 278 nests (93.92%) of the Caretta turtle out of the 296 identified on the West Coast were located within the Lara-Toxeftra Marine Protected Area. It is noted that the beaches of the West Coast, apart from the Marine Protected Area of Lara-Toxeftra, include all the beaches of the area north to Cape Arnaoutis and south to Paphos airport and Mandria.
The Marine Protected Area of Lara-Toxeftra covers the coastal zone and specifically the entire Protection Zone of the Beach, as well as the sea area up to the isobath of 20 meters (about 1 km from the coast).
According to the legislation, from June 1st to September 30th of each year, within the Marine Protected Area of Lara-Toxeftra it is forbidden to place umbrellas, beds, tents, caravans and other items, to stay on the beach and the coastal area at night, starting one hour before sunset, as well as to drive any vehicle on the beaches.
It is also forbidden to use or anchor a boat in the area, fishing in any way (nets, spear guns, etc. except for the rod), collecting crabs from the beach, which are a protected species throughout Cyprus, while it is forbidden to throw garbage and light a fire (coals, etc.) on the beach or at any other point in the area.
During the day people can visit the protected area, swim and see turtles that hatch and head to the sea, during the period of spawning sea turtles.
The implementation of the law, on the beaches as well as in the sea area, with patrols from the land and from the sea, is the responsibility of the DFMR, through the Preventive Service and the Fisheries Inspectors. Signs at the entrance of the Marine Protected Area of Lara-Toxeftra inform the public about the Regulations governing the area.
In 2018, a Decree was also issued based on the Fisheries Law by the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment (P.I. 234/2018), according to which from May to October of each year the passage and mooring of vessels in the Marine Protected Area of Lara-Toxeftra is prohibited.
Andreas and Myroula the "angels" of protection
Receiving the SPAMI Certificate, the DFMR expressed its deep gratitude to the pioneers of the Program for the Protection and Monitoring of Sea Turtles Andreas Dimitropoulos, first director and founder of the Department of Fisheries, and Myroula Hadjichristoforou, two people who laid the foundations and contributed substantially to the successful protection and conservation of the two species of sea turtles, establishing the Marine Protected Area of Lara-Toxeftra in 1989, based on the Fisheries Law and Regulations.
The Marine Turtle Protection and Monitoring Program is implemented by the Cyprus Wildlife Society, in collaboration with the DFMR, as the competent authority for sea turtles and the protection of their habitats. Andreas Dimitropoulos and Myroula Hadjichristoforou have been the pioneers of the program for four whole decades, as they have started and continue to successfully implement the program for the protection and conservation of the sea turtles of Cyprus until today.
It is noted that the Program for the Protection and Monitoring of Sea Turtles of Cyprus is considered one of the most successful and innovative on a Pan-European and global level. It is characteristic that it has been awarded by the United Nations Environment Programme and the Directorate-General for the Environment of the European Commission, while the pioneers of the programme have drawn up, among other things, relevant guides and guidelines for the protection and monitoring of sea turtles, on behalf of the Barcelona Convention and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
Turtles at an hatching station
In the northern Gulf of Lara there is an hatching station and a public information centre, with photographs and information on sea turtles, as well as on the management measures governing the Lara-Toxeftra Marine Protected Area on land and at sea. The hatching station and the information centre are visited by many Cypriots and foreigners with very favourable comments about the work being done. From the beginning of hatching, around mid-July, a small number (about 10-15) of small turtles from both species are kept in an aquarium at the hatching station for visitors to see, in order to sensitize them and avoid the disturbance of nests by visitors who may attempt to visit the nesting beaches at night to see turtles.
In the "incubator" at the Station in Lara, around 15-20 nests are transported every summer from very touristic beaches, mainly from the beaches of the Coral Bay area, which have no prospect of preservation as biotopes. The "hatchery" is a fenced area of Lara beach, where eggs are transported and re-buried.
The protection of nests on the spot, on the beaches where they are born, is necessary because the turtles return when they mature and give birth on the beaches where they were hatched. During their incubation, as well as after their hatching, the turtles record the geomagnetic and other elements that will allow them to rediscover the same beach, when they mature, after 20-30 years using their biological compass.
Hatching of newborns and the journey to the sea
With a visit to the Marine Protected Area of Lara-Toxeftra during the summer season you will find that there are placed special aluminium cages and in some cases special frames or with reeds / wood, which protect the nests where the sea turtles deposit their eggs from the foxes. At the same time, in each nest there are signs that warn the public not to disturb the nests and turtles.
During the day, the public can visit the area, swim and see turtles hatching and heading to the sea, during the incubation period of the pups.
These are shocking moments when small turtles emerge from the sand and head to the sea. The eggs deposited on the beach by the Caretta turtles and the Green Turtles, from May to August, hatch about seven weeks later. The turtles are attracted to the brightest point of the horizon, which is usually the sea, while in some cases they may be attracted in the direction of artificial lighting, if it exists near the nesting beach.
If they are disoriented and directed towards the lights, then their chances of falling prey to foxes or being hit by cars increase. If they remain on land during the day, then they will die from high temperatures.
After hatching the eggs, the individuals who have previously marked the nests and protected them with special cages where the turtles give birth, open the nests to record all the elements (e.g. shells, unfertilized eggs, etc.), with the aim of calculating the degree of buoyancy of each nest, but also to help the last turtles that may have remained in the sand and direct them to the sea.
Serious illegalities are being recorded in the region
In recent years, there have been several serious illegal activities within and near the Marine Protected Area of Lara-Toxeftra, the most important of which concern the illegal construction and operation of coastal restaurants and refreshments. The DFMR takes the necessary measures and is supervised and checked on a daily basis in the area, as well as informing visitors about the provisions of the legislation. In this context, when any violations (e.g. umbrella placement) are detected, visitors are informed about the relevant prohibitions in order to comply with them. In cases of non-compliance, the DFMR proceeds to a complaint and the imposition of an extrajudicial fine.
The tolerance shown over time towards the construction and operation of illegal restaurants and arbitrary refreshments, contradicts a series of decisions of the Supreme Court of Cyprus and recommendations of the Standing Committee of the Berne Convention for the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats of the Council of Europe.
The most serious problems recorded on the nesting beaches of sea turtles are the following:
• Driving motor vehicles on the beaches.
• Presence of boats in the sea area, especially Jet-Skis and speedboats.
• The public stays at night to see and photograph turtles giving birth or to see turtles coming out of their nest.
• Theft of eggs from nests.
• Fishing with the use of snorkelling and lighting.
• Illegal construction and operation of beach restaurants and refreshments.
The Marine Protected Area of Lara-Toxeftra includes the most important nesting beaches of the two strictly protected species of sea turtles in the territory of the Republic of Cyprus.
The Marine Protected Area of Lara-Toxeftra was declared between 1989 and 1990, through relevant regulations that were initially issued by the Council of Ministers (P.I. 172/1989) and then ratified by the House of Representatives (P.I. 273/1990), based on the Fisheries Law.
At the same time, the construction of any construction on the beaches from the Argaki of Yusoufis to the mouth of the White River, in the administrative territory of the communities of Inia and Kato Arodon, as well as the Municipality of Pegeia, was prohibited through a relevant decree issued by the Council of Ministers (KDP 8/1990), on the basis of the Protection of the Beach Law.
The Marine Protected Area of Lara-Toxeftra falls within two areas of the European Natura 2000 Network, the Special Area of Conservation and the Special Protection Area of the Akamas Peninsula, which were declared between 2009 and 2010.
In addition, in 2013 the Maritime Protected Area of Lara-Toxeftra was declared a Specially Protected Area of Mediterranean Importance, on the basis of the Protocol concerning Specially Protected Areas and Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean of the Barcelona Convention, within the framework of the Regional Activity Centre for Special Areas and Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean. Protected Areas (Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas) of the Mediterranean Action Plan of the United Nations Environment Programme, and as a Biogenetic Reserve, on the basis of the Bern Convention for the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats of the Council of Europe.
