CESTMed

What CESTMed does

CESTMed (Centre d'Étude et de Sauvegarde des Tortues Marines de Méditerranée) is a French non-profit association (loi 1901) founded in 2003 and headquartered in La Grande-Motte, France, operating across two sites — a 7-tank care center housed within the Seaquarium in Le Grau-du-Roi and a 150 m x 34 m outdoor rehabilitation basin at Le Ponant in La Grande-Motte — together with the public-facing La Caretta pedagogical center. Since June 2007 it has been the sole officially recognized sea turtle care center for the French Mediterranean, the mandated regional responder for stranding and bycatch incidents, and a member of the RTMMF network authorized to release rehabilitated turtles. Its underlying technology stack includes Argos satellite telemetry (used since 2005), an in-house Caretta caretta ethogram analyzed via BORIS software, the first biweekly Five Domains animal welfare questionnaire for sea turtles in mainland France, beach prospection protocols under the LIFE TURTLENEST project covering 637 km of coastline, and a pilot program using scent-detection dogs for non-invasive fecal sampling.

Its revenue mechanics are characteristic of a small French non-profit: tax-deductible donations (via card, PayPal, and HelloAsso), material donations, affiliate income from the Lilo search engine, ticketed guided visits to the rehabilitation basin (€8 adults / €6 children, July-August only), paid age-targeted animations booked via HelloAsso, free entry to La Caretta with encouraged donations, in-school animation programs reaching ~2,000 students annually, in-kind volunteer labor, and EU LIFE program co-financing. Customer/stakeholder segments are diversified across school groups, families with children aged 4-15, the general public and tourists, and local fishermen who act as bycatch-reporting partners — reducing reliance on any single paying customer but leaving the operation structurally dependent on volunteer engagement and grant funding.

As of the most recent data, CESTMed has treated 450 turtles since creation, participated in scientific studies on marine debris, fishing impact, and ethology, and is executing the EU-funded LIFE TURTLENEST program across France, Italy, and Spain, including training of 2,000 volunteers, satellite-tagging of 20 nesting females and 20 juveniles, identification or extension of 12 Natura 2000 sites, and training of 4 canine nest-detection units.

Name

CESTMed

Legal name

Centre d'Étude et de Sauvegarde des Tortues Marines de Méditerranée

Website

https://cestmed.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CESTMed is a French non-profit association (loi 1901), founded in 2003 and based in La Grande-Motte, that operates the sole officially recognized sea turtle care center for the French Mediterranean — rescuing, rehabilitating, and studying Caretta caretta while educating ~2,000 school students and the public annually across two sites.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marine Wildlife Conservation Services

NAICS

Zoos and Botanical Gardens (712130)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAIAC

Wildlife Rescue, Rehabilitation & Release

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Animal Welfare & Wildlife Rescue

SECONDARYBPAGAGAE

Marine & Freshwater Conservation

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Environmental & Conservation Organizations

SECONDARYTHAAAIAH

Marine Conservation & Citizen-Science Experiences (reef monitoring, turtle walks)

Travel & Hospitality/Adventure, Amusement Parks & Ecotourism/Marine & Coastal Ecotourism (Diving, Snorkeling, Whale Watching)

Keywords

• Marine turtle rescue
• Sea turtle rehabilitation
• Wildlife conservation services
• Marine conservation education
• Beach nest monitoring

Headquarters

HQ city

La Grande-Motte

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations: The association operates as a non-profit under French law (Loi 1901) and is funded primarily through donations. Donations can be made by credit card, PayPal, or through HelloAsso platform. Donations are tax-deductible.
2. Material Donations: The center accepts donations of specialized equipment needed for turtle care throughout the year.
3. Lilo Search Engine Revenue: CESTMed partners with Lilo search engine; each search performed through Lilo generates a free donation to the center.
4. Ticket Sales and Animation Fees: Revenue from guided visits to the rehabilitation basin (€8 adults, €6 children aged 4-12) and pedagogical animation sessions, booked through HelloAsso.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CESTMed rescues, rehabilitates, and studies injured and stranded sea turtles in the French Mediterranean through a medical care center (seven individual basins at the Seaquarium in Le Grau-du-Roi) and a 150m × 34m rehabilitation basin at La Grande-Motte, before releasing healthy turtles back to sea. It delivers public and school-based marine conservation education through the La Caretta pedagogical center and a portfolio of age-targeted animations, and conducts scientific research including Argos satellite tracking, ethology studies, and participation in the EU LIFE TURTLENEST project. The organization is supported primarily by donations, ticketed guided visits, and volunteer engagement.

Product overview

CESTMed operates a unified conservation offering organized around three interconnected pillars: a medical Care Center (seven individual basins at the Seaquarium in Le Grau-du-Roi) and a Rehabilitation Basin (150m × 34m semi-liberty outdoor facility at Le Ponant in La Grande-Motte) for turtle rescue, care, and release; La Caretta — a dedicated House of the Marine Turtle — serving as the public-facing educational hub; and a Scientific Studies Program conducting research on marine debris, satellite tracking, participatory science, and fishing impact. The organization also delivers age-targeted Animations pédagogiques and Animations scolaires programs from La Caretta, and participates in the European LIFE TURTLENEST project spanning Italy, France, and Spain for nesting site protection. Volunteer Training supports operations across all three pillars.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sea Turtle Care Center (Centre de soins) Medical care facility located at the Seaquarium in Le Grau-du-Roi, equipped with seven individual basins for treating injured marine turtles. Staff and trained volunteers provide daily care including feeding, basin cleaning, and behavioral monitoring, with support from a network of volunteer veterinarians for complex treatments. Intended for injured or stranded sea turtles from the French Mediterranean coast.
• Rehabilitation Basin (Bassin de réhabilitation) Outdoor semi-liberty rehabilitation basin spanning 150 meters in length and 34 meters in width, located at Le Ponant in La Grande-Motte. Turtles regain swimming and self-feeding abilities here before release into their natural habitat. Accessible via guided summer tours and a self-service wooden terrace.
• La Caretta (House of the Marine Turtle) Educational and events center featuring a games and reading corner, museography, and a full-scale Leatherback turtle model. Serves as the hub for public and school-based awareness activities, including manual activities, games, video presentations, exhibitions, and conferences. No live turtles are kept on-site. Free entry, open Monday to Friday.
• Public Pedagogical Animations (Animations tout publics) Age-targeted educational workshops for families and children covering marine turtle biology and conservation. Sessions cover the Visit of the Rehabilitation Basin, Tortoise Hospital (4-6 years), Little Naturalist (6-8), Grand Naturalist (8-11), Turtle Emergence (10-15), and Educ-Tour Turtles (4-8 during school holidays). Bookings handled via HelloAsso.
• School Animations (Animations scolaires) School group educational program hosting approximately 2,000 students annually from kindergarten through high school. Offers guided tours of La Caretta and the rehabilitation basin, plus in-school outreach with level-adapted animations. Custom workshops can be developed on request in consultation with the pedagogical team. Contact: 04 34 26 27 80 / [email protected].
• Scientific Studies Program Scientific research program encompassing sampling protocol monitoring (via the RTMMF network), animal health tracking, rehabilitation center studies, fishing technique impact studies, marine debris studies, satellite tracking (Argos beacons since 2005), participatory science via REPCET app, and detection dog feces collection studies. Outputs feed into EU Marine Directive (DCSMM) and Natura 2000 policy.
• LIFE TURTLENEST Project European Union LIFE-program co-funded conservation project targeting Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) nesting site protection across Italy, France, and Spain. Actions include beach monitoring across 637 km of coastline, nest protection, satellite tagging of 20 females and 20 juveniles, Natura 2000 site identification, and training of 2,000 volunteers and 1,000 beach users.
• Rehabilitation Basin Guided Visits Guided tours of the rehabilitation basin conducted on Thursdays in July and August from 10h00 to 11h30, with adult tickets at €8 and child tickets (4-12 years) at €6. Free entry for children under 4. Bookings via HelloAsso. Basin visits are closed September through May.

Quantifiable outcome

• 450 turtles rescued and treated since 2003
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Fondation de la MerminorOthersListed as a partner on the CESTMed partenariats page. Logo displayed among institutional and conservation partners.
• MEDDE (Ministère de l'Écologie)coreOthersMinistry-level partner supporting the center's activities, listed as a partner with logo displayed on the partenariats page.
• OFB (Office Français de la Biodiversité)coreOthersFrench Office for Biodiversity is a key institutional partner supporting marine turtle conservation efforts.
• Seaquarium du Grau-du-RoicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe sea turtle care center is housed within the Seaquarium facility at Le Grau-du-Roi. This co-location is essential to CESTMed's operations, providing the physical infrastructure for turtle rehabilitation.
• Muséum National d'Histoire NaturellecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrestigious scientific institution partner, contributing expertise in natural history and biological research to support turtle conservation science.
• RTMMF (Réseau Tortues Marines de Méditerranée Française)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCESTMed is a member of RTMMF, the French Mediterranean Sea Turtle Network. RTMMF coordinates the strandings network and habilitates CESTMed to release turtles back to sea. Joint protocols for sampling dead and live turtles are followed.
• Souffleurs d'EcumecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCESTMed collaborates with Souffleurs d'Ecume on integrating sea turtles into the REPCET smartphone application (a real-time collision-avoidance system for cetaceans and sea turtles used by ships) for participatory science.
• LIFE TURTLENEST Consortium (EU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCESTMed participates in the LIFE TURTLENEST project, co-financed by the European Union's LIFE program, alongside partners in France, Italy, and Spain. The project aims to improve Caretta caretta conservation through nesting beach monitoring and protection across ~1,500 km of French Mediterranean coastline, 4,800 km of Italian coastline, and 1,600 km of Spanish coastline.
• LilominorGTM or Marketing PartnerLilo is a search engine that redirects advertising revenue to charitable causes. Each search performed through Lilo generates a free donation to CESTMed. An easy zero-cost way for supporters to contribute.
• REPCET (Réseau d'Observation des Cétacés et Tortues)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipatory science network allowing equipped ships to report real-time sea turtle and cetacean sightings to reduce ship strike risk. CESTMed contributes turtle observation data.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Pelagos Sanctuary Secretariat: Pelagos is a marine mammal sanctuary agreement between France, Italy, and Monaco. It is an adjacent institutional partner that benefits from CESTMed's Mediterranean ecological data and citizen-science contributions via REPCET.
• Fondation de la Mer: Fondation de la Mer is a French institutional funder supporting marine conservation projects. Listed as a CESTMed partner, it serves as an adjacent ecosystem participant rather than a direct competitor.

Direct peers

• MEDASSET (Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtles): MEDASSET is a Greece-based NGO coordinating sea turtle conservation research and policy across the Mediterranean, including Libya, Turkey, and Cyprus. It shares CESTMed's research-and-advocacy orientation and overlapping regional footprint.
• RTMMF (Réseau Tortues Marines de Méditerranée Française): RTMMF is the broader French Mediterranean sea turtle network of which CESTMed is a member. It coordinates the strandings network and releases, providing a directly comparable context for CESTMed's habilitation and rescue mandate.
• ARCHELON - Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece: ARCHELON is the longest-running sea turtle conservation organization in the Mediterranean, operating rescue, rehabilitation, nesting beach monitoring, and public education programs in Greece. It is the closest functional analog to CESTMed at a national scale.

Broad incumbents

• WWF France: WWF France is a major environmental NGO active in marine conservation across the Mediterranean, including sea turtle protection. It is a broad incumbent with overlapping mission and donor-base reach.
• Oceanographic Museum of Monaco: The Oceanographic Museum combines marine science, conservation, and large-scale public education in the Western Mediterranean. Comparable to CESTMed's educational pillar but at much greater scale and brand recognition.
• Seaquarium du Grau-du-Roi: Seaquarium is the public aquarium that houses CESTMed's care center. It is a regional incumbent in marine education and tourism and a key operational partner, but its broader portfolio (multiple species, attractions) differentiates it from CESTMed's turtle-specific focus.

Regional players

• Surfrider Foundation Europe: Surfrider Foundation Europe is a France-headquartered NGO focused on ocean protection, including marine litter and coastal conservation. It overlaps with CESTMed's marine debris research and citizen-science engagement but covers broader themes.

Emerging players

• Loggerhead Marinelife Center (Florida, US): Loggerhead Marinelife Center is a sea turtle hospital, research, and education center in Florida. While Atlantic-focused and at larger scale, it offers a benchmark for the integrated rescue-rehab-education model CESTMed operates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cestmed

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CESTMed