The loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) is given this nickname because of the ease with which fishermen could catch it. However, the “foolish or innocent character” with which these sea turtles are often associated is contrasted with extraordinary skills and abilities that allow them, with great precision, to find the beach where they were born to reproduce after having been sailing thousands of kilometers away or to make long migrations to reach areas where they can get food.
 
If we look at their physiognomy, one of the characteristics that define these reptiles, between 90 and 100 cm in length on average and 135 kg in weight, is the great strength of the shells with which they protect their body. This trait reduces the risk of predation, so that only large mammals or marine sharks can pose a risk to them. Male specimens can be differentiated from females because they are the former larger and have a more developed nail on the front fins.
 
Loggerhead turtles inhabit all oceans, especially they are concentrated along the tropical, subtropical and temperate seas of the Atlantic, Mediterranean, Indian and Pacific and are considered the most common reptile species in Spanish waters. Females choose temperate zones for their reproduction, which occurs every two or three years, specifically in tropical and subtropical regions. These can be fertilized by several males and their copulation can last about three hours. This practice is repeated four to five times over a period of 12 to 17 days, laying about 110 eggs at night each time. The young hatch from the egg between 45 and 80 days after being laid.
 
Loggerhead turtles are mainly carnivorous, although they can also feed on marine plants. Due to pollution in the seas, turtles now mistake plastics for prey. For this reason, marine litter is one of the main threats to this species. Other actions that endanger the loggerhead turtle also come from man, through accidental capture in fishing, egg collection on laying beaches or the increase in marine traffic. Eggs and young turtles can be affected by attacks by birds, crabs, or even sharks. In 2015, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species listed the loggerhead turtle as a “vulnerable” species, as do the List of Wild Species under Special Protection and the National Catalogue of Threatened Species.
 
Due to the precarious state of the loggerhead turtle and with the aim of preserving a species that acts as an important indicator of the health of ecosystems, the Biodiversity Foundation coordinated the LIFE+ INDEMARES project in which 49 areas of the Natura 2000 Network were designated, in which this species, among many others, is present. This project integrated the work of leading institutions in the field of management, research and conservation of the marine environment. Within the framework of the 2015 call for grants from the Biodiversity Foundation, the Chelonia Association has launched the project Conservation of Caretta caretta in the Valencian Community, carrying out different actions such as a research campaign on habitat use and movement patterns, as well as the preparation of a proposal for a Conservation Plan for the loggerhead turtle.
 
This species has also been the focus of attention of three projects co-financed by the European Fisheries Fund, in the calls of the Biodiversity Foundation. The first of them, developed by the Chelonia Association, has worked on the reduction of bycatches of sea turtles and elasmobranchs in the Spanish Atlantic and the Strait of Gibraltar. Along the same lines, SUBMON developed within the framework of the FEP the project Training of artisanal fishermen to increase the survival of sea turtles and other protected species, seeking to reduce the mortality of the population of sea turtles and protected species after their accidental capture by artisanal fisheries in Andalusia and Murcia through training and awareness.
 
Finally, the Doñana Biological Station, of the Spanish National Research Council (CSEC), developed the project Reduction of accidental catches of sea turtles in fishing and promotion of the recovery of affected individuals. With this initiative, agreements have been established with the Fishermen’s Guilds of Andalusia, Murcia, Ceuta and Melilla to create permanent information and collection points for these animals with the aim of  reduce catches and increase the survival of captured specimens.
 
Thanks to all these efforts, many loggerhead turtles will cross Spanish jurisdictional waters this summer.