UK High Commissioner visits turtle-nesting site
BRITISH High Commissioner Stephen Lillie visited the Alagadi turtle-nesting beach on Monday evening to see first-hand the contribution of researchers from the UK’s University of Exeter to the protection of green (Chelonia mydas) and loggerhead (Caretta-caretta) turtles.
Researchers from the University of Exeter, together with volunteers from the TRNCbased Society for the Protection of Turtles (Spot), plus local universities and authorities, have been “collaborating on preservation of turtle habitats in Alagadi, and across the northern shores of the island, since 1992” a press statement from the British High Commission (BHC) said.
During this time, they have observed a “162 per cent increase in green turtle nests and [a] 46 per cent [increase] in loggerhead turtle nests”.
“During his visit to Alagadi, the High Commissioner had the opportunity to see adult green and loggerhead turtles laying eggs and covering their nests,” the statement said.
“The Exeter and Spot teams were on hand to explain more about their Cyprus collaboration.
“They explained how Spot has grown from a seasonal project focused on protecting sea turtles at nesting beaches, to an organisation with a year-round mission to develop marine conservation in partnership with fishing communities and other stakeholders.”
Mr Lillie said: “Nature is at the heart of Britain’s international environmental agenda. As we prepare to host the global climate change conference (COP26) in Glasgow in November, we’re championing protection of the marine environment and the world’s oceans.
“I’m delighted to have been able to spend a great evening here at Alagadi beach, learning all about the efforts of the University of Exeter, Spot and their local partners and supporters to protect green and loggerhead turtles. They’re doing a fantastic – and vital – job.”
University of Exeter researcher Robin Snape, said: “More than 2,400 nests were recorded in the northern coasts of Cyprus last year, an all-time high, and four times more than the number counted during the first official survey carried out in 1993.
“However, although nest numbers are increasing, thousands of turtles are being killed each year as by-catch in small-scale fisheries around the coast of Cyprus.
“Through the Cyprus Bycatch Project (a bicommunal project in collaboration with Enalia Physis and Birdlife Cyprus), we are working urgently to understand and reduce this by-catch by 2022.”
The BHC statement added that The International Union for Conservation of Nature has both the green and loggerhead turtles on its “red list”, described as endangered and vulnerable respectively.
It said that a similar programme is run in the Akamas Peninsula in South Cyprus by the “Fisheries and Marine Research Department, highlighting the importance of protecting natural habitats across the whole of Cyprus”.