Hundreds of Endangered Sea Turtle Hatchlings Born in 2024 on Crete

A “remarkable number” of at least five female caretta caretta sea turtle individuals used Pachia Ammos beach, at Stavros village on the Akrotiri peninsula of Crete, for breeding in 2024, resulting in five hundred hatchlings reaching the sea.

A report by the Natural History Museum of Crete confirmed the existence of 13 nests of this protected sea turtle species, with a good chance that there were as many as 15 this year.

A total of eleven nests were excavated by volunteers of Archelon, the sea turtle protection society of Greece, in September and October, leading to the successful hatching of hundreds of eggs.

The data was shared by the Stavros Environmental Association (S.E.A.), which calls on the authorities responsible for the protection of biodiversity and wildlife to ensure the protection of the area.

Greece hosts approximately sixty percent of the Caretta-Caretta species’ nests in the Mediterranean according to WWF Greece, and two of its most important breeding sites; the National Marine Park of Zakynthos, and the southern part of the Kyparissia gulf in western Peloponnese.

Zorba the Greek filming location is “lanscape of special natural beauty”

Just fifteen kilometres east of the port city of Chania, the area of Stavros is one of the most famous cultural heritage sites of Crete and was designated as a “landscape of special natural beauty” in 1973, which requires special state protection.

Pachia Ammos beach, an inventorised nesting place for the protected sea turtle species of Caretta Caretta (also known as loggerhead turtle), is located 300 metres from the main beach of Stavros village, where Anthony Quinn danced his famous syrtaki in Costas Kakoyannis’ classic film “Zorba the Greek.”

According to the local environmental association, Pachia Ammos is also home to rare flora, like the endangered sea lilies Pancratium maritimum, the last remaining sand dunes on the north shore of Crete, while on the seabed of the area are the precious Posidonia oceanica meadows.

A peaceful place within the flyway for migratory birds who come here to rest and fish, the beach is very close to a wetland which is included in the list of small island wetlands and part of it is protected by Presidential Decree.

Nonetheless, an application in the 1990s for inclusion into the NATURA 2000 protected habitats network was rejected without justification, and locals put forward new requests in 2022 and 2023.

Sea turtles nesting area endangered by construction of sewage pump

In recent years, residents of Stavros have been campaigning against plans by the Municipality of Chania for the construction of a sewage pumping station in Pachia Ammos.

“This is a serious threat with huge ecological consequences for the sea turtles and for other marine and plant life. And of course for the people who live in Stavros and all who come to enjoy its natural beauty,” according to an online petition for the cause.

Locals argue that the plant will also block the walking trail to the archaeological zone which leads to an ancient quarry and a petrified forest.

Although they believe in the need for the construction of a new sewage pump in the area, they stress that the sea turtles’ nesting beach is by no means the right location for the project.

As locals continued to demonstrate against construction works in December, a recent post on the S.E.A. Facebook page said they have received messages of support from across the world, encouraging “the fight to protect this special region.”

The Association’s lawyer is preparing the next legal actions to immediately stop construction works for the sewage plant and find an alternative location for the project, the post concluded.