Sea Turtles in the Mediterranean

Five of the eight species of sea turtles have been recorded in the Mediterranean but only two of them nest regularly on Mediterranean beaches: the loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta and the green turtle Chelonia mydas. Non-nesting leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea, hawksbill turtle Eretmochelys imbricata, and olive ridley turtle Lepidochelys olivacea occur, having been reported irregularly by fishermen who have found dead ones. All five are recognised as globally threatened species; the loggerhead is ranked "Vulnerable", the remainder "Endangered" (IUCN, 1988). According to investigations made so far, there may be on average some 2000 female Caretta caretta and 300-500 Chelonia mydas nesting annually in the Mediterranean.

The general information about sea turtles.

Latin Name	English name	Turkish name (kaplumbağa)	Adult wt (kg)	Clutch size.	Egg dia. Di (mm)	Inc. Per (days)	hatchlig wgt (gr)
Chelonia mydas	Green	Yeşil kaplumbağa	113-295	75-150	45	48-70	~25
Chelonia agassizii	Black	Siyah k.	100	~70	45	50-55	~20
Natator depressus	Flatback	Düzkabuklu k.	90	~50	51	50-55	~40
Caretta caretta	Loggerhead	İribaş k.	77-227	70-120	40	45-60	~20
Eretmochelys imbricata	Hawksbill	Atmaca gagalı k.	43-75	~140	38	<64	~15
Lepidochelys olivacea	Olive Ridley	Zeytin yeşilli k.	45	110	40	52-58	~17
Lepidochelys kempi	Kemp's Ridley	Gündüz yuvalayan	34-45	~100	39	48-62	~17
Dermochelys coriacea	Leatherback	Deri kabuklu k.	295-545	80	54	50-55	~45

The major nesting beaches identified for C. caretta were in Greece and Turkey, with smaller numbers recorded in Cyprus, Libya, Tunisia, Israel and Italy. The distribution of nesting C. mydas was found to be much more localised, the only substantial nesting areas being Turkey and Cyprus, with a few nests also recorded in Israel. Recent surveys in Libya, Egypt and Syria have added these countries to the list of minor nesting areas for C. Caretta.