Every year, around hatching season, it is common to see a surge of news reporting Caretta caretta eggs laid in the beach by thousands, showing the cutest hatchling crawling to reach their life in the sea – and we breathe a sigh of relief. We, as humans, have neglected these animals in the past, and it warms our hearts to see them in much better conditions. They deserve all the good deeds we do. Yet, has the situation improved enough for us to stop thinking about them? Are they really flourishing as a species now?

Ecological Research Association (EKAD) President Ali Fuat Canbolat pointed out that there is a misperception among those who hear about the hundreds of thousands of Caretta caretta, also known as loggerhead sea turtles, newborns that make it to the sea, that the danger of extinction has disappeared for this species. Yet, Canbloat noted that only two or three out of 1,000 eggs reach adulthood.

Turkey's Mediterranean beaches are home to the largest nesting areas for the endangered Caretta caretta and green sea turtle species. They have been protected in Turkey for nearly 30 years under "The Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea Against Pollution." There are 25 nesting beaches in Turkey in total, with Antalya ranking first with nine.

Undertaking conservation duties at the 30-kilometer-long (18.6-mile-long) Belek Sea Turtle Nesting Beach, the largest in the Mediterranean for 23 years, EKAD included the afore-mentioned misperception, state of eggs, hatching and all the substances that cause the death of turtles after reaching the sea in this year’s report. The report emphasizes that these species are not increasing in population as generally believed.

Stating that there is an average of 80 eggs in a nest, Canbolat noted that a 48% loss occurs on land where eggs break and babies don't reach the sea. He listed the reason for the loss as follows: