Contributing to the conservation of the biodiversity of the marine environment thanks to the establishment of the national strategy for the protection of sea turtles, specifically the loggerhead turtle, is the objective of the initiative with which Asociación Chelonia has been a beneficiary of the 2015 call for grants of the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry of Agriculture. Food and Environment. A project that will strengthen marine and coastal management in the Natura 2000 Network of the Valencian Community.

Thanks to the initiative, it will be possible to better understand the ecology and ethology of the loggerhead turtle, Caretta caretta, and it is also expected to reduce the impacts of human action on their populations. All this with the aim of establishing a conservation plan for the loggerhead turtle in the Valencian Community, a strategy that will be agreed with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Valencian Community. In addition, the initiative will serve to raise awareness among the population about the importance of the species and the defined conservation strategy.

The project includes several actions, such as the implementation of a research campaign on the use of habitat and movement patterns of the loggerhead turtle in the waters of the Valencian Community and the carrying out of an ethology study applied to the species. Within the framework of the same, two courses will be held on the identification of traces and protection of sea turtle nests on Valencian beaches and a series of conferences will be launched focused on the conservation of sea turtles in Spain. These actions will be completed with the publication and dissemination of different awareness-raising materials.

Among the results of the project is expected to achieve a reduction of up to 50% in the number of individuals of Caretta caretta stranded or suffering accidents due to being trapped in plastics, nets, lines, accidental catches or accidental collision with maritime vessels.