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Press release: Greek government puts turtles, tourism and Zakynthos at risk

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Athens, 18 July 2014: (Translation of Press Release originally issued in Greek) - The recent decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (EU) to condemn Greece for the operation of a landfill within the National Marine Park of Zakynthos, did not come as a surprise. Rather, it was the sad result of unprecedented negligence for one of the most important ecological sites and tourist destinations in Greece. The Court decision notes that Greece neglected to take measures to seal the overfull landfill site which is not functioning properly. On the contrary, responsible authorities allowed the landfill to... read more →

Press release: Turkey- MEDASSET asks government to protect sea turtles in Fethiye, Patara and Kazanli

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[media animation="none" link="" image="3680"]14 April 2014: MEDASSET expressed its extreme concern about the conservation status of three important sea turtle nesting beaches in Turkey, through a letter addressed to Mr. İdris Güllüce, Minister of Environment & Urban Planning, and Prof. Dr. Veysel Eroğlu, Minister of Water Affairs & Forestry. MEDASSET draws the attention of responsible authorities to the urgent need of improved management of sea turtle nesting beaches in Kazanli, Patara and Fethiye (see map below). There are several examples of successful sea turtle habitat management in Turkey, however in these three sites there has been very little or no... read more →

Press release: Egypt- Experts & stakeholders discuss conservation of Bardawil wetland and sea turtles

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Cairo, Egypt, 26 February 2014: Stakeholders met in Cairo to discuss sea turtle[1] mortality and conservation problems in Bardawil lagoon. The Mediterranean semi-enclosed coastal water body in North Sinai is listed among the Ramsar Wetlands of International Importance. The meeting took place on 24 February 2014 at the British Council and was organised by international NGO MEDASSET[2] and Egyptian NGO Nature Conservation Egypt[3]. It follows the release of the report entitled ‘Egypt’s Bardawil Lake: safe haven or deadly trap for sea turtles in the Mediterranean?’ in December 2013,[4] published by the two NGOs in collaboration with Dr. M. El-Alwany of the... read more →

Ending overfishing & the blind spend in Europe

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Europe ringed in the New Year with a brand new fisheries policy. After four decades, the European Union’s (EU) common fisheries policy has been reformed to place the marine environment and sustainable livelihoods in the forefront. This is especially important for the Mediterranean Sea, where 88% of studied fish stocks are overfished, and destructive fishing threatens the survival of marine species such as sea turtles but also of fishing-reliant local communities. Since 2012 we are working side by side with the pan-European Ocean2012 group of organisations that monitor the reform of the fisheries policy and of the €1.6 billion fund... read more →

Investigation: Sea turtle deaths in Egypt

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In October 2012 Egyptian NGO Nature Conservation Egypt (NCE) alerted us about news of “mass deaths of sea turtles” in Bardawil, a semi-enclosed coastal lagoon in North Sinai, Egypt. In response, our Egyptian representative Dr. Mohamed Nada worked with NCE, local scientists and authorities to visit the remote wetland and survey the area to get a first-hand view of the situation. A grant from the British Chelonia Group covered the survey costs and the subsequent data analysis. During 2013 we worked with the survey team to put together all the available information with the aim to clarify the scale of... read more →

New paper published on sea turtles in Albania

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We are pleased to announce the release of a new paper: Population Structure for Sea Turtles at Drini Bay: An Important Nearshore Foraging and Developmental Habitat in Albania, by M. White, L. Boura and L. Venizelos. The paper was published in December 2013 in the Chelonian Conservation and Biology journal, Issue 2 of Volume 12 (pp. 283-292). For a preview click here. To download the full article click here. This paper stems from the 3-year collaborative project that we implemented in 2008-2010 to monitor sea turtles in Drini Bay, Albania. It follows several previous papers and reports presenting project results.... read more →

Press release: Egypt-New report on sea turtle mortality reveals urgent need for protection of Bardawil wetland

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20 December 2013: Bardawil lagoon in North Sinai, Egypt, is a unique Mediterranean semi-enclosed coastal water body that is listed among the Ramsar Wetlands of International Importance. Its eastern section - the Zaranik Protected Area - was afforded national protection in 1985 and is renowned worldwide as a key habitat for migratory birds. In response to news in October 2012 of "mass deaths of sea turtles" in Bardawil lagoon, a two-day survey was carried out in November 2012 by researchers of NGOs MEDASSET[1] and Nature Conservation Egypt[2] in collaboration with Dr. M. El-Alwany of the Suez Canal University[3]. Staff of... read more →

MEDASSET urges governments to improve protection of important Mediterranean sea turtle habitats

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We are just back from Strasbourg, France, where we participated in the Bern Convention’s annual meeting at the Council of Europe (3-6 December 2013). The Bern Convention provides a unique forum for NGOs to present complaints and reports, with the aim to bring international attention to local and national conservation problems and encourage governments to take action to protect vulnerable habitats and species. For the 25th year in succession, we presented the conservation problems that we documented during 2013 in important sea turtle nesting beaches in the Mediterranean. As a result, the Convention decided to monitor the conservation status of... read more →

Press release: Sea turtle conservation problems in Greece, Cyprus and Turkey

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December 11, 2013: Bern Convention, Council of Europe: 3-6 December 2013 For the 25th year in succession, MEDASSET attended the Standing Committee Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, the Bern Convention, in Strasbourg, France. The following sea turtle conservation problems in the Mediterranean were discussed: Kyparissia Bay (Peloponnese, Greece): In summer 2013 there were more than 1,300 loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) nests in Southern Kyparissia Bay. Zakynthos, which is considered the Mediterranean’s most important nesting beach, had 1,000 (ARCHELON data). Although the area has been a European Union (EU)... read more →