(ANSA) - ROME, AUGUST 03 - Never so many nestings recorded in early August, never so far north in the Mediterranean Sea: from Lampedusa to Venice, sea turtles continue to "conquer" more and more coasts and attention.
From the beginning of the summer to the first of August, there are 179 caretta caretta nests surveyed from one end of the peninsula to the other by vigilants active on the Italian beaches, in the front line, among them, the "Tartawatchers" of Legambiente.
In making it known, the environmental association underlines that the regional prime, according to the data updated weekly on the Tartapedia.it portal, belongs to Calabria with 61 nests, followed by Campania and Sicily (43), Puglia (11), Lazio (8), Sardinia and Tuscany ( 5), Basilicata (2) and Veneto (1). The most northerly nest ever recorded in the Mediterranean Sea was found in Jesolo.
A number of ovipositions beyond expectations, if you think that in 2020, at the end of the season, there were a total of 250.
Cilento, in particular, is confirmed as one of the preferred areas by the mother turtle: the coast south of the province of Salerno has in fact become the favorite nursery of the Caretta caretta, one of the most common turtles in the Mediterranean included in the Red List of threatened species of the IUCN (the International Union for the Conservation of Nature), with 27 nests from Castellabate to Centola-Palinuro, and the largest number (8 nests) recorded in Ascea.
In parallel, the adhesions of the bathing establishments to the new Legambiente initiative "Lidi amici delletartarughe marine" are growing: there are over 500, from the Tuscan Maremma to Salento, from the Jesolo coast to that of Ostia, the establishments on which the flag that recognizes their commitment flies in the adoption of "tartafriendly" rules - such as the manual cleaning of the beaches or the reduction of acoustic and light pollution at night -, in the distribution of information materials to bathers and tourists and in collaboration with rescue and recovery centers for sea turtles. There are several areas where you can come across the "friendly beaches", in Tuscany, Lazio, Marche, Campania, Puglia, Sardinia, Basilicata and Veneto. (HANDLE).
