The 26th Annual Sea Turtle Symposium comes to Crete (Greece)

For the first time in its 26-year history the Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Conservation and Biology will be held in Europe, and more specifically in Crete from 2nd-8th April 2006.

MEDASSET will be presenting the following papers within the framework of its conservation and education programme in the Mediterranean.

An oral presentation on:
Sea turtles in Albania: Results of a rapid assessment of possible foraging and over-wintering habitats (October-November 2005).
Authors: Michael White, Vassilis Kouroutos, Adonis Plytas, Arian Gace, Andrian Vaso, Sajmir Beqiraj and Idriz Haxhiu.

An oral presentation on:
'Trionyx triunguis: the brackish water turtle that also lives in the Mediterranean Sea'
Authors: Lily Venizelos and Max Kasparek

A Poster presentation on:
'Five years of marine turtle conservation effort in Lebanon: monitoring and awareness' about MEDASSET's ongoing research on the turtle nesting beaches of South Lebanon.
Authors: Monica Aureggi, Mona Khalil, Helen Cross, Max Kasparek, Charbel Rizk, Lily Venizelos

A Poster presentation (reserve Oral) on:
'The white ghosts of Kazanli: sea turtle conservation in Turkey' about the history of the hazardous environment of Kazanli green turtle nesting beach in Eastern Turkey.
Authors: Lily Venizelos and Max Kasparek

We look forward to seeing friends and colleagues at the Symposium in April.

Hits! Hits! Hits! at EuroTurtle.org!

We welcome 2006 with news that EUROTURTLE, Europe's first educational website for the conservation and biology of sea turtles, is going swimmingly, with an impressive 2,824,862 hits, an increase of 18% from 2004's figures (2,299,000) and 187,245 visits over the course of the year - an increase of 24%! That's an average of 513 visitors per day (2004: 412).

The content of the site is regularly updated and 2005 saw the introduction of 'Suzy's Sea Turtle Frequently Asked Questions' (FAQ). Questions such as: What determines the sex of a sea turtle? Why do hatchlings emerge together?

The site is an ongoing joint project since 1997 between MEDASSET and Kings College, Taunton, UK. It has received a number of awards and has been recommended and selected by several international educational institutions.

EUROTURTLE is rich in high quality graphics, work sheets, diagrams and on-line activities, is easy to navigate and has been adapted to the needs of its users through extensive feedback. It makes an important contribution to the understanding and conservation of sea turtles and their habitats; provides a valuable environmental education tool for the classroom; and enables students, teachers, activists and all interested parties to enrich their knowledge of these strange and enigmatic creatures that have been around since the days of the dinosaurs.

We look forward to welcoming even more visitors in 2006!

To visit the website go to: www.euroturtle.org