MedTRACS (Mediterranean Turtle Research and Conservation Society) has fitted satellite transmitters to two marine turtles that nested at Lara Beach this summer, launching a new initiative to track their journeys across the Mediterranean.
The Cyprus-based non-profit organisation attached the transmitters in June, working with the Sea Turtle Conservancy, to one green turtle (Chelonia mydas) and one loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), as part of a joint effort to better understand how Cyprus’ marine turtles move around the Mediterranean.
Turtles are highly migratory. Researchers say tracking them will reveal their migration routes and key feeding areas, show how they use different habitats, and highlight the challenges they face along the way.
Satellite telemetry gives scientists detailed insight into the turtles’ movements, behaviour and the habitats they depend on to survive, and the findings will feed into regional conservation efforts and future protection measures for the species. Because sea turtles cross multiple national borders during migration, MedTRACS and the Sea Turtle Conservancy say international cooperation and shared scientific data are essential to protecting them long-term.
The two turtles have been named Andrea and Lara. Andrea was named after Andreas Demetropoulos, who founded the Cyprus Turtle Conservation Project in 1978 and laid the groundwork for sea turtle conservation in Cyprus and the wider region. Lara takes her name from Lara Beach, the project’s home base and one of the Mediterranean’s most important nesting sites for both green and loggerhead turtles.
Lara Beach, on the Akamas Peninsula near Paphos, is widely regarded as one of the Mediterranean’s key nesting grounds for loggerhead turtles, with smaller numbers of green turtles also nesting there. The Cyprus Turtle Conservation Project, launched at the site in 1978, is considered the first sea turtle conservation project of its kind in the Mediterranean, and in its early years received support from the World Wildlife Fund and, later, the European Union.
About MedTRACS
The Mediterranean Turtle Research and Conservation Society (MedTRACS) is a Cyprus-based non-profit organisation dedicated to researching, conserving and protecting marine turtles and their habitats. Through scientific research, conservation projects, education and public outreach, it works to safeguard turtle populations in Cyprus and across the Mediterranean.
About the Sea Turtle Conservancy
Founded in 1959, the Sea Turtle Conservancy (STC) is the world’s oldest sea turtle research and conservation organisation. Over more than six decades, it has worked to protect sea turtles through scientific research, habitat conservation, education, advocacy and international partnerships, with its programmes providing foundational insights into marine turtle biology that have guided conservation efforts worldwide.
