Trapani/Ragusa (gro) The Mediterranean sea turtles, threatened with extinction, are apparently looking for new spawning grounds. This is indicated by observations on the southern coast of Sicily. About 40 baby turtles of this species were spotted these days on the beach of Campobella di Mazara, about 75 kilometers southeast of the provincial capital Trapani. Also in the province of Ragusa, almost 200 kilometers further southeast, a newborn aquatic turtle has been seen; in addition, a mother turtle was observed laying eggs on the beach of Focallo di Ispica, from which offspring should emerge in a few months.
So far it is above all a beach in Lampedusa.
So far, it is mainly one beach on Lampedusa that has made an international name for itself as a spawning ground for water turtles: the beach on the south side of the island, off which is the small “Isola dei Conigli” (the “Rabbit Island”). It is a fine sandy strip with crystal clear, blue-green shimmering water and a rugged rock wall about 25 meters high in the back. It is one of the most beautiful beaches of the Mediterranean, not at all shy of comparisons with the Caribbean. During the egg deposits, the beach, which is monitored by conservationists, is restricted for bathers and sunbathers for weeks.
Lampedusa is already Africa geologically.
The island Lampedusa, for decades a longing destination of Milanese, Romans and Palermitans, belongs with her charming neighbor island Linosa administratively to the province Agrigento. But it is almost 250 kilometers across the sea. For 20 years, Lampedusa has been targeted by refugees from North Africa, or rather by their smugglers. For it is not much further to Lampedusa from Libya’s north coast than from there to Porto Empedocle, the port city of Agrigento. And it is only 70 kilometers from Mhadia in Tunisia. Nowhere in the middle eastern Mediterranean is Europe closer. The flat rocky island of Lampedusa is already part of the continental shelf of the African continent.
Cause of turtle migration still unclear.
For the time being, the redisposition of the aquatic turtles puzzles. Why since centuries known spawning places are abandoned, gives therefore cause for all kinds of speculations. On the one hand, the increasing popularity of the island of Lampedusa as a vacation destination – after all, the southernmost outpost of the Republic of Italy – is cited as a reason. In addition, it is said that the continuous landing of refugee boats possibly disturbs the egg-laying aquatic turtles in their reproductive efforts: Either further west or further east, but in any case to the southern coast of the largest island in the Mediterranean. (Image: wikipedia)