Five hundred caretta caretta (loggerhead sea turtles) hatchlings are estimated to have reached the sea after the excavation of nests at Pachia Ammos beach, at Stavros village on the Akrotiri peninsula of Crete, in 2024.
The data given by the Stavros Environmental Association, which calls on the authorities responsible for the protection of biodiversity and wildlife to ensure the protection of the area.
Volunteers of the Archelon, the sea turtle protection society of Greece, carried out in September, excavating a total of 3 nests on the eastern side of the beach, locating a total of 248 eggs. Of these, 187 were hatched. On 17 and 18 October, another 8 nests were excavated by specialist of the Laboratory of Ecology and Environmental Management of the Natural History Museum of Crete/University of Crete, Michalis Drettakis.
The Natural History Museum analyzed the data, pointing out that the beach of Pachia Ammos during the breeding season of 2024 had a significant density of caretta caretta nesting. The presence of 13 nests was noted, 11 of which were excavated.
According to the 2024 data, at least five female caretta caretta individuals used the beach for breeding, a number considered by the Natural History Museum of Crete as remarkable.