As thousands of tourists visit Greece’s beaches each summer, crystal-clear waters and breathtaking views aren’t the only things awaiting them. Sea turtles are also frequent visitors to many of the sandy shores, and the public can play an important role in these marine reptiles’ conservation.
What should tourists and swimmers do if they encounter sea turtles or nests at the beach? Archelon, a nonprofit organization dedicated to studying and protecting sea turtles and their habitats in Greece, operates a 24/7 hotline for people to report a discovery, and receive specific instructions based on the situation.
Dimitris Fytilis, manager of Archelon’s rescue center in the Athens south suburb of Glyfada, emphasized that no one should touch a nest or a turtle unless instructed to do so by Archelon. “If someone doesn’t know what they’re doing,” he explained, “they could unintentionally do more harm than good.”
Opened in 1994, Archelon is the Mediterranean’s first facility dedicated exclusively to protecting sea turtles.
“Over the years, we have saved and nursed back to health more than 1,400 sea turtles, with about 60-70% being successfully released back into the wild,” said Fytilis, who has been with the group for a decade. “The driving force behind the entire organization is its volunteers,” he continued, referring to the approximately 500 volunteers from around the world that Archelon hosts annually.
