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Marine Turtle Newsletter 67:23-24, © 1994

Speedboat Ban in the Bay of Laganas, Zakynthos, Greece

Dimitrios Dimopoulos
Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece, 35 Solomou Street, GR-106 82 Athens, Greece

During every nesting season, large numbers of loggerhead turtles aggregate in the Bay of Laganas, Zakynthos. The bay has six discrete nesting beaches (a total of 4 km) and hosts the largest single loggerhead rookery in the Mediterranean, averaging 1200 nests per year. Two of the largest tourist resorts are also located on the bay and hundreds of visitors use the nesting beaches for recreation during the day. Legislation has protected the nesting beaches since 1983, and in 1988 a Ministerial Decision regulated sea traffic in the bay by dividing it into three zones. Zone A: no boating activity; Zone B: speed limit 6 knots, no anchoring or mooring; Free Zone: no restrictions. As a result, all powered water sports concentrate in the Free Zone.

The legislation proved inadequate because turtles swimming or basking in the Free Zone were exposed to the propellers of the speed boats. The problem was compounded by the fact that speed boats often breached the speed limits by entering the protected zones. This made effective policing quite an impossible task. In response, the Minister of Merchant Marine signed the new Local Port Regulation on Friday, 22 July 1994. The Regulation extends Zone B to include the whole of the bay, effectively signaling an end to powered water sports in the bay. Further, the purchase by the Ministry of Environment of a patrol boat to be used exclusively in the bay by the Coast Guard is underway and will make law enforcement more effective.

The total ban on speed boats in the Bay of Laganas is a result of a campaign which was started by the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece last summer, following the death of nine turtles killed by speed boat propellers. The campaign was supported by local communities, hotel owners, local organizations, tour operators, environmental groups and hundreds of tourists that visit the island every year. The ban is a major victory for sea turtle conservation in Greece and is a significant step toward the establishment of a National Marine Park in Zakynthos.