TURTLES IN THE MEDITERRANEAN

Déclic Bleu Méditerranée presented at the World Festival of Underwater Image a film dedicated to the rescue of Toulouse, loggerhead turtle in distress, neat and released in the waters of Port-Cros. The opportunity for us to take stock of the presence of turtles in the Mediterranean!

HISTORY WAS COMPLETELY FINISHED

Found half drowned off Porquerolles by Jérôme Boutie d'Aqualonde, the little loggerhead, named after the pink city, was entrusted to CESTMED, the Center for Studies and Safeguarding Turtles in the Mediterranean. She had spent two months at Grau du Roi. Neat, pampered, Toulouse had finally been able to rejoin the natural environment, and be released in Port-Cros. And every year, a number of turtles, wounded or simply very weak are saved.

THE CESTMED OF THE GRAU DU ROI, THE CLINIC OF TURTLES

It is the CESTMED, created in 2003 at the Seaquarium du Grau du Roi, which ensures the care of animals in the Mediterranean. Last year, 26 turtles have passed through the pools of the Center, for a few weeks or a few months. Many years for some, who are not able to start an independent life again. Particularity of turtles, in connection with their astonishing longevity, their metabolism is very slow: they can heal serious wounds, but they need time. And that's what the CESTMED volunteers and scientists offer them.

MULTIPLE THREATS

The main threats to marine turtles, as everywhere around the world, are both related to pollution and declining habitat availability. Plastic waste, be it bags that they inadvertently swallow or harmful micro-fragments, is the major hazard they face. And the scarcity of isolated beaches, essential for laying eggs, has for some decades considerably endangered their reproduction.

SEVERAL SPECIES IN MEDITERRANEAN WATERS

Five species are likely to frequent the Mediterranean waters, but the one you are most likely to encounter is the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta). The others are observed in a very exceptional way, starting with the green turtle (Chelonia mydas), the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), and finally the Kemp tortoise (Lepidochelys kempii) and the hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata). All are considered threatened, protected under the Washington Convention. The loggerhead, protected by a ministerial decree of 1991, will undoubtedly have its salvation to the multiplication of the protected areas of the whole Mediterranean area, where it will be able to reproduce in all peace, as it does currently in Cyprus or Libya. .

BRIDGES RECORDED IN CORSICA AND IN THE VAR!

But some observations are encouraging: if no nesting had been officially recorded on our shores since the 30 years, the remains of a nest were found in 2002 in southern Corsica. And in 2006, it is in the Var that the same observation was made. In the Western Mediterranean, egg laying takes place from April to September, and the incubation lasts between 60 and 75 days: at the height of the tourist season, the success of breeding therefore requires turtles to find beaches almost deserted!

THE MARINE TURTLES NETWORK

The Mediterranean Sea Turtles Network is in charge of recording all the observations, catches, strandings, as well as any particular event, concerning marine turtles on the French Mediterranean coast. This network, animated by volunteers, but also supported by official bodies, such as the Port-Cros National Park, ensures the transmission of all data to the scientists concerned.

REPORT YOUR OBSERVATIONS

And the network needs you! Any sighting, be it a live or dead turtle, or traces that seem to be traces of spawning, is important. Live and healthy turtle sightings provide a better understanding of the populations, and reporting an injured or distressed animal may allow specialists to save it. And even dead, a turtle, after autopsy, can provide valuable information about the causes of death and the threats to our Mediterranean species.

In diving however, it is very rare to observe a sea turtle in the Mediterranean waters. Few, they prefer the wide or quietude of the most remote areas.

Text: Isabelle Croizeau

Photos: Nicolas Baraqué