Marine turtles are protected in the Mediterranean Sea
and are subject to local protection or restoration plans. However, loss of terrestrial habitats, pollution, poaching and bycatch by fishing gear, and climate change continue to impact these species to varying degrees from region to region.
Indeed, because of their migratory way of life, the protection of marine turtles in the Mediterranean requires the preservation of multiple habitats and ecosystems by all the countries bordering the basin, and any weakness or failure of conservation efforts in a country or region could jeopardize regional conservation efforts.
In recent years, the level of knowledge about sea turtles in the Mediterranean continues to increase,
but with an imbalance between species and regions. However, important gaps exist for the most fundamental subjects, such as the distribution, the main nesting sites and the total number of spawning annually deposited in the Mediterranean, In particular with the emergence of new sites especially in the central and western basins. These gaps are even greater on the southern shores of the Mediterranean, which cover more than 5800 km of coastline and nearly 800,000 km² of marine territory, or nearly 31.9% of the total area of the Mediterranean.
In addition, many initiatives for the protection of marine turtles are conducted at the level of the Mediterranean basin by organizations such as (SPA/RAC, MEDPan, etc.) with a satisfactory level of collaboration at the regional level, But this requires more effort on a sub-regional scale, as is the case for the southern Mediterranean.
