The Sanremo Yacht Club and the Famija Sanremasca invited, on Saturday evening, 19 October, the APS ‘Delfini del Ponente’ of Imperia, founded in 2020 to carry out scientific research on Cetaceans, Seabirds and Turtles and environmental education and awareness activities.
“The proposed theme: ‘Sea turtles… on the beach’ – explains the press release – brought together over fifty people at the dinner-conference of the two speakers, the president of the association and marine biologist Davide Ascheri and the young marine biologist Beatrice Grosso, Gianni Manuguerra the evening was moderated. Present were the Mayor of Sanremo, Alessandro Magher, the Commander of the TV Port Isabella De Luca, the Councilor Dr. Gianni Mascelli, the honorary President of the Consuls of the Sea, Meritorious Citizen, Gustavo Ottolenghi, the former mayor Lawyer Davide Oddo, Lieutenant Colonel Alessandro Recine, the meritorious citizen, photographer, Alfredo Moreschi, the new Consul of the Sea Stefano Puppo, the Councilor of the Famija Sanremasca Paolo Ferrari, president of the YCS Giuseppe (Beppe) Zaoli thanked everyone present and in particular the numerous young people, students of the teacher and marine biologist Manuela Galli.
There is little knowledge about sea turtles, and their importance for the necessary biodiversity of the marine world is underestimated. Only three types of turtles are present in the Mediterranean, the Loggerhead Turtle, the Green Turtle, and the Leatherback Turtle. Over 600 nests of eggs have been identified in 2024 on Italian beaches and each nest has the potential for 50-100 newborns. Unfortunately, however, the probability for them to survive the first months of life unscathed is very, very low… Furthermore, the risks, once they reach maturity at around 20 years of age, remain high. Collisions, treacherous hooks, killer nets, toxic pollution, especially from plastic, are upon us. However, recent studies consider hundreds of thousands of turtles of various species present in the Mediterranean.
Dr. Ascheri’s rich and timely narrative regarding the observations, protections and studies of the many new Caretta Caretta turtle nests in Liguria was followed with particular attention and apprehension for the successes, many new born, and the disappointments, nests destroyed or abortive. The increase in nests is certainly also due to climate changes which have made the coastal waters and Ligurian beaches more suitable for egg laying. The Consul of the Sea Gianni Manuguerra has made an appointment for the next meetings – dinner conferences at the YCS, innovative solutions on waste water management, the Cinema of the Sea, meetings with those who know the sea and know how to disseminate its beauties and mysteries” .
