Yiğithan Yıldız
20 August 2026•Update: 20 August 2026
Nearly 25,000 endangered loggerhead turtle hatchlings have reached the Mediterranean Sea this season under a conservation program monitoring thousands of nests along Türkiye's southern coast.
Volunteer teams working under the Sea Turtle Monitoring and Conservation Project inspect nesting sites and record hatchlings every morning along a 65-kilometer stretch of coastline in Antalya province.
The project is led by Hacettepe University lecturer Ali Fuat Canbolat, who also heads the Ecological Research Association, known as EKAD.
Fatih Polat, EKAD's project coordinator for the Kizilot region, told Anadolu that teams had identified about 1,700 nests in Manavgat, 2,300 in Belek and approximately 350 in the Kundu-Lara area this season.
The total number of recorded nests has reached roughly 4,500.
Polat said around 7,000 nests had been identified during previous summer seasons, but stressed that this year's lower figure did not indicate a sudden collapse in the turtle population.
"Turtles nest once every three to four years, and this year coincided with that cycle," he said. "We expect the nests to be more numerous and concentrated next year."
The nesting period, which normally runs from May through July, continued into the first week of August this year because of weather conditions, Polat said.
Hatchlings began emerging in mid-July, and the process could continue until Oct. 15.
"We have opened around 2,000 nests, and nearly 25,000 hatchlings have reached the sea so far," Polat said.
Human-caused threats
Despite the conservation effort, volunteers have encountered several serious threats caused by human activity this season.
Polat said fires lit on beaches and attempts by visitors to dig up nests posed particular dangers to turtles and their eggs.
Two hatchlings trying to reach the sea in the Belek-Bogazkent area died after crawling into a fire burning on the beach, he said.
At another location, protective metal cages placed over turtle nests were used as barbecue grills, exposing the eggs beneath them to damaging heat.
Unauthorized digging is another major problem, particularly near hotels, according to Polat.
"People see hatchlings emerging and dig into the nest because they think they can rescue the others below," he said. "It was a very serious problem, especially in hotel areas. We immediately sent warning letters and conducted information activities. It has decreased somewhat, but it has not ended completely."
Polat warned that hatchlings can continue emerging for four or five days after the first turtle leaves a nest, stressing that members of the public should never attempt to open nesting sites themselves.
