Will turtles and tourism always be at loggerheads?

Zakynthos has some fascinating wildlife, but the Greek island's biggest stars, its loggerhead turtles, are dying out - partly because of their popularity

"See turtles or your money back," says the sign on the beach. A smiling local hands out fliers and shakes the hands of passersby; occasionally they stop and a few Euros change hands. Looking across the bay, there are five or six more operations that either rent out small boats with 20hp outboard motors to "visit Marathonisi - Turtle Island" or will book you aboard a glass bottom boat to: "see Caretta caretta". Saying "no" is quite difficult as the hard sell tactics kick in.

This is Laganas, the main tourist town in the Ionian island of Zakynthos. As the name suggests, Laganas was once a lagoon, and thirty years ago supported one of the largest flamingo colonies in Europe. Now it's a depressing strip of poor quality apartments and tourist clutter; all moped rental places, tacky bars and run down clubs. The decline of the Greek economy lends a sense of desperation and the turtles are one of the few things the town still has going for it.