INDIGO TURTLES

Since 2014, ORTA BLU and Mavi were partnering with EKAD (Ecological Research Society) to help save 15.000 baby sea turtles yearly, aiming to protect the Mediterranean fauna for two 110 million year old sea turtle species, the “Caretta Caretta” and “Chelonia Mydas”, both of which have now become endangered. Facing many difficulties, only forty percent of the hatchling turtles reach the water and only one in a thousand survive there after. The organization collects data on human interference during the laying and hatching season, which comes from tourism industry development of nesting grounds, unnatural light sources that confuse hatchlings and accidental fishing deaths.

The idea is to dispense this information to hotels and local people, raising awareness of the issue, as well as taking direct action to protect the grounds from these unnatural obstacles. While it takes fifteen years before a hatchling can make eggs of there own, only one in a thousand generally make it that far. With the odds stacked against them, it is collaborations like the Indigo Turtles Project that can hopefully make a difference.

The Indigo Turtles project not only offers the little turtles hands-on help in the field, but also utilizes its impressive network to raise awareness about the problem and its potential solutions.