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On the beaches of Samandag district in Hatay, a province on Türkiye's southern Mediterranean coast, green sea turtle hatchlings break through the sand after completing their incubation, beginning a short but perilous journey toward open water this summer.
Beneath the sand of Samandag, Cevlik, Meydan and Tekebasi beaches, clutches of green sea turtle eggs complete weeks of incubation.
As dawn breaks, the hatchlings begin to stir, working together to push upward through the compacted sand toward the surface and their first contact with open air.
The first hatchlings emerge at sunrise, small and disoriented after their climb from the nest. Guided instinctively by light on the horizon, they orient themselves toward the sea, taking their earliest steps across a beach that stretches nearly 14 kilometers along the Hatay coastline.
Every step across the open sand brings risk. Loose surface debris, uneven terrain and the sheer distance to the waterline test the hatchlings' strength, while teams stationed nearby monitor their progress without interfering with the natural course of the journey.
Officials from the Hatay Nature Conservation and National Parks Directorate, joined by academics from Hatay Mustafa Kemal University's Veterinary Faculty and volunteers from the Samandag Environmental Protection and Tourism Association, patrol the nesting grounds, recording hatching activity and shielding the sites from disturbance.
Metropolitan municipality crews work alongside coast guard, gendarmerie and police units to keep the beaches clear of waste and free of artificial light that could disorient the hatchlings, addressing threats that officials say could otherwise prevent the young turtles from reaching the water.
Nuri Akin, director of the Hatay Nature Conservation and National Parks Directorate, says protecting the roughly 1,500 to 2,000 nests along this stretch of coast remains the department's top priority, with access to the nesting sites tightly controlled throughout the hatching season.
The hatchlings reach the shoreline and enter the Mediterranean, completing a journey that began weeks earlier as eggs buried beneath the sand.
Officials estimate between 120,000 and 130,000 eggs are laid across the area each season, with plans underway to establish a dedicated marine and coastal biodiversity unit to maintain a permanent presence at the site, which also borders the Mileyha Wetland.
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