The 14-kilometer beach in Hatay’s Samandag district has started to host green sea turtles and Caretta Carettas. After laying their eggs on the sandy beach they dug, the mother turtles return to the sea again. The egg laying of the turtles, which starts at night and continues until the light of the day, is also watched by volunteer students from various universities.
Samandağ Environmental Protection and Tourism Association President Michel Atik said that turtle nests have exceeded a thousand so far this year and that the hatchlings will soon start to come out of the nest, saying, “Now, the number of nests has reached a thousand, compared to other seasons, this is a considerable number. I hope a record in the number of nests. I think we will break it. Last year, we had around 1,500 nests. I hope there will be more this season,” he said.
Emre Sandık, who participated in the volunteer work, said, “Our coast is 14 kilometers long on average, we detect and protect the nests of turtles that lay eggs at night starting from the morning. We are also working to raise awareness of the people of the region.”
Alican Gümüş