The Northern Cyprus Turtles Protection Association (SPOT) stated on social media that the growing number of caravans and the resulting light pollution at Kaplıca Beach are causing baby turtles* to become disoriented. Instead of heading towards the sea, the hatchlings are drawn to the lights from the caravans, leading to their deaths, Kibris Postasi reports.
SPOT said in a statement, “To find a solution to this problem, we placed light barrier systems around our nests. This system has worked and our babies reached the sea instead of the caravans with the help of the barrier system”.
Marine turtles face a number of hazards that threaten their survival. In May 2021, The results published from a Near East University two-year project on marine waste, showed that Cyprus beaches are under grave threat from waste washed up from neighbouring countries.
The project was funded by the NEU Scientific Research Projects fund and carried out in cooperation with the Biological Sciences Department at the University of Exeter.
Studies at Ronnas Beach on the Karpaz Peninsula, one of the main breeding sites for green sea turtles, showed that turtles could face extinction because of the pollution.
An average of 1,114 waste material, weighing 11.9 kilograms per month, was collected from an area covering 250 square metres. The waste items, mainly detergent, shampoo, food and beverage containers come from Lebanon, Syria, Israel and Egypt, the report said.
There are regular beach cleanups to remove unsightly rubbish, plastic bottles and the like to help protect turtles which spawn on Cyprus beaches. These are organised by SPOT in cooperation with other NGOs.
*There are two species that nest in Northern Cyprus and both are endangered. About 10% of the Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and 30% of the Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) from around the Mediterranean nest here. There are only about 300 to 400 Green and around 2000 Loggerhead turtles in the entire Mediterranean Sea.
Both species nest in the soft sands of Alagadi beach near Esentepe, and several other areas along the Cyprus coast, including the long stretch of sand on the Golden beach in the Karpaz Peninsula and the Akamas Peninsula in the Republic of Cyprus. Female turtles, called hen turtles, lay between 70 to 150 eggs during nesting season, which runs between late March and early June. (SPOT)
