![]() ![]() Several thousand animals die in the fishing nets in the Adriatic Sea per year. When turtles get entangled in nets or caught in a trawl they cannot swim to the surface for air and they drown. The cause of the largest mortality of sea turtles in the Adriatic Sea is through fishing gear. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature lists the loggerhead turtle as endangered and the EU Habitats Directive lists it as a priority species for conservation. As they live in such close proximity to the coast and human activities, we have the capacity to negatively affect their existence. Being cold blooded animals, sea turtles spend the cold winter months “hibernating” on the bottom of the northern Adriatic Sea. As the northern Adriatic is a shallow sea it represents a key habitat for loggerhead turtles. In the northern Adriatic they enter the benthic phase of their lifecycle when they feed on the crustacean snails and shells from the sea bed. During this phase they enter the Adriatic Sea. After hatching they crawl to the sea and swim towards the open water where they mature. It nests on beaches in Greece, Turkey and Cyprus. The loggerhead turtle is the species that inhabits the entire Adriatic Sea year round. This species prefers warmer waters so it is most often found in the southern Adriatic. The green turtle is a species that nests along the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. It does not nest in the Mediterranean but can be observed occasionally. The leatherback turtle is a largest of the sea turtles and the only one with shell made of connective tissue. Of seven species of sea turtles that live today, three species have been regularly observed in the Mediterranean Sea. Today they face a number of threats that cause their decline. ![]() Sea turtles are an ancient group of animals, inhabiting the Earth for millions of years. In the future this centre will be an integral part of the network of rescue centres for conservation of sea turtles in the Adriatic Sea. The Sea Turtle Rescue Centre has been constructed as part of the project: ‘Network for the Conservation of Cetaceans and Sea Turtles in the Adriatic (NETCET)’ funded by the European Union Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) Adriatic Cross-Border Cooperation (CBC) Programme. We are proud to announce that this centre will be opened by the Croatian President, Ivo Josipović. On the 19th of July 2013 the Blue World Institute of Marine Research and Conservation will open the new Sea Turtle Rescue Centre in Mali Lošinj, Croatia. ![]()
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