ARCHELON

Description

ARCHELON, the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece, is a non-profit organisation that studies and protects sea turtles and their habitats in Greece.

It was founded in 1983, growing out of nest monitoring that began on Zakynthos in the late 1970s. It runs long-term field projects on loggerhead turtle nesting beaches in Zakynthos, the Peloponnese and Crete, recording and protecting nests since 1983. Since 1991 it has run a nationwide Sea Turtle Rescue Network with port authorities and citizens to record stranded turtles, and it operates a Sea Turtle Rescue Centre in Glyfada, Attica, that treats and rehabilitates injured or sick turtles before releasing them.

ARCHELON combines scientific research with volunteer work, and relies on hundreds of volunteers each year. It runs public awareness and education programmes for thousands of students and visitors annually, both at the rescue centre and through its field stations. It works with national and international bodies on marine turtle conservation and has served as the Mediterranean coordinator for the IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group.