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Chartering around Zakynthos: the sea turtle protection zone in Laganas Bay
Short answer
Laganas Bay on Zakynthos is part of a national marine park because loggerhead sea turtles nest on
its beaches.
Part of the bay is closed to boats, and the rest has a low speed limit and a ban on anchoring.
Buoys mark the zones.
Zakynthos is the southernmost of the large Ionian islands, and most yachts chartering around Zakynthos come down from Kefalonia, Lefkas or the mainland. In the south of the island lies the wide sweep of Laganas Bay, an important nesting site for the loggerhead turtle in the Mediterranean. To protect the sea turtle population, the bay forms the core of the National Marine Park of Zakynthos, and boats are subject to their own rules there, above all during the summer nesting season.
The park divides the bay into zones marked by buoys. Off the nesting beaches no boats may enter at all. In the other zones a low speed limit applies and anchoring is banned. The park authority publishes the exact limits, and notices are posted in local harbours. Turtles often rest just below the surface and are hard to spot from the helm, and a turning propeller can injure them badly. Inside the bay, go slowly, put someone on the bow as a lookout and keep well clear when a head breaks the surface.
Ask the base before you leave which zones are closed and where you can anchor instead, for instance on the east coast or in the bays to the north. Breaking the park rules can mean a fine, and an injured turtle is worse than any fine. If you damage someone else's boat or property with the charter yacht you are personally liable, so your own skipper liability insurance belongs in the preparations in the Ionian too.
Worth remembering
Off the nesting beaches
no boats at all
Rest of the bay
slow, no anchoring
In Laganas Bay the turtle always has right of way.
Questions
What owners ask us about this
Can I anchor in Laganas Bay?
Not in most of the bay, especially during the nesting season. The base can suggest anchorages outside the protection zone.
What is the speed limit in the marine park?
A low speed limit applies in the zones open to boats; the park authority publishes the exact figure. Off the nesting beaches boats may not enter at all.
What should I do if a turtle surfaces near the boat?
Take the engine out of gear, keep your distance and wait until it dives. Do not feed it or follow it.
Related
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Whether it is “Chartering around Zakynthos: the sea turtle protection zone in Laganas Bay” or another question: send us your residence and the flag your boat flies. You will get a straight answer in one email; including a no, if that is the answer.
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