The latest stage of the training program organized by MedPAN in May and co-financed by the EU ENI CBC Med funded ENSERES project has successfully concluded. In Zakynthos, Greece, eleven Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) managers from seven countries took part in three-day training activities dedicated to the “Marine turtle conservation at sea across Mediterranean MPAs”.

Guests of the Zakynthos National Marine Park, the MPA managers carried out the field work, mainly of a practical nature, inspired by the “Marine Turtles in Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas: a monitoring guide”. The relative welfare of sea turtles, considered an endangered species, has been built up in recent decades with a careful and extensive conservation plan. The deterioration of habitats, fishing and pollution, all anthropogenic threats, weigh on these splendid marine animals, and in particular on the Caretta caretta species, also known as loggerhead turtle. 

Marine turtles are considered an umbrella species: conserving them and their habitats will help protect numerous other species and sustain marine biodiversity. According to a 2018 MedPAN survey addressed to 20 Mediterranean and Black Sea countries, only 28% of the respondents described turtle monitoring and management activities, while 25% confirmed the turtles’ presence in their MPA area.

The guide collects the experiences of the last few years and channels them into two main objectives: protecting turtles and reducing the sources of danger. The eleven managers of the MPAs received training on the collection and processing of data concerning species, habitats and elements of anthropogenic pressure. The guide is in line with the directives and strategies of the UNEP MAP Barcelona Convention.

Participants prepared for the 3 days of Zakynthos with an online course entitled "Getting started with marine turtle conservation", that engaged them in a 7-day course divided in theoretical sessions and video tutorial exercises. Twenty managers from 14 countries were involved. “The 3-day training of Zakynthos has been incredibly useful”, states Massimo Marras, director of the Sinis Peninsula - Mal di Ventre Island MPA in Sardinia, Italy. “Indeed- Marras adds- a great opportunity to deepen, or thoroughly acquire, a knowledge that is paramount in preserving turtles, such an important species in the Mediterranean ecosystem. It was also an opportunity to create a network together with colleagues from Greece, Croatia, Spain, Cyprus, Malta, Italy and even Cabo Verde!”.