The recent statements of the Ineia municipality head that state departments and environmentalists instrumentalize the issue of turtle nests, warning that he is going to intervene to prove that nests are not real, yesterday caused the reaction of the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research.
In an announcement, the Department noted that sea turtles and their eggs have been protected in Cyprus since 1971 with various laws and regulations both local and foreign. According to this legal framework, actions like the destruction or attempt to destroy the nests/eggs of sea turtles is prohibited and cannot be justified.
As the Department further added, the Program for the Protection of Sea Turtles in Cyprus is recognized at a European but also at an international level as one of the most successful programs of biodiversity.
However, during the two recent protests they organized at Lara, the residents and authorities of Ineia insisted that the issue of turtle nests is used by ecologists and state or former state officials to promote their own interests regarding the future use of the land there. They also claim that this became crystal-clear during the pandemic, when no people visited Lara and no activity by turtles was seen on the beaches.
