Successful Sea Turtle Rescue at the Harbour of Ravdoucha – 16th March

What started as a beach cleaning activity at the harbour of Ravdoucha ended up in rescuing a severely injured sea turtle.
We – a small group of the Clean Beaches Kissamos Team and some local people from Ravdoucha – set out on Saturday, 16th March at 10.00 to remove the big amount of all sorts of plastics washed ashore.
After about an hour we discovered a small sea turtle by the pier, close to  the shore.
It did not move at all, it was just floating in the shallow water, which made us think it might be dead.
We carefully took the turtle out of the water and placed it in the sandy area.
What a big surprise it was when it all of a sudden showed a sign of life, moving its head.
We contacted the ARCHELON helpline. They reacted promptly, telling us what to do:
they advised us on what to do, where to touch the sea turtle etc., to record these actions and to send them this video then.
Archelon then told us to cover the turtle with a towel or a blanket and to avoid  any noise that could stress the turtle and to wait for the Coast Guard to come.

Next step: contacting the Hellenic Coast Guard in Kissamos.
When the two Coast Guard employes arrived, the turtle no longer showed any reaction, not even a slight movement of its head.
What a joyful moment, however, it was for us all when the Coast Guard employee picked up the turtle in order to put it into their car: the turtle moved its head again!

One hour later ARCHELON informed us that the turtle would be sent from Souda Harbour to Athens the same evening at 21.00 with destination Glyfada, Athens, where there is the Sea Turtle Rescue Centre.
We hope that the sea turtle will recover and thank everyone who helped to make the communication and operation successful for the sake of the seriously injured sea turtle!

WHAT TO DO IF YOU FIND AN INJURED OR A DEAD SEA TURTLE
–  Inform the Archelon Sea Turtle Protection Society:
   24-hour hotline +30 6941 511 511

-Call the Hellenic Coast Guard  Kissamos- LIMENIKOS STATHMOS KISSAMOU 
+302822022024

First aid when you find an injured sea turtle:
Move the turtle to a SAFE PLACE far away from people and noise. Turtles should always be picked up by the shell, and never by the flippers or the head.
Read more here.