Loggerhead sea turtle

Photo: Valentino Traversa · CC BY-NC

The Adriatic hosts one of the Mediterranean's important loggerhead sea turtle populations, with the Tremiti islands lying along a known foraging corridor. Caretta caretta feeds primarily on invertebrates — jellyfish, crabs, and molluscs — and individuals are seen year-round but peak in frequency in summer. The marine reserve's ban on gillnets and trawling around the islands has substantially reduced the bycatch mortality that threatens Adriatic loggerheads elsewhere.