Rescued turtles released into sea after rehabilitation
TWO turtles found injured and distressed have been released back into the sea after rehabilitation at the Taşkent Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre and new Meritta Turtle Centre, and will be tracked for data to help with their protection.
The North Cyprus Society for the Protection of Turtles (Spot) and Taşkent officials thanked volunteers, fishermen, the Meritta centre, members of the public and Environment Protection Department (EPD) staff for their help and reports of turtles in distress.
Spot released the first juvenile green to be tracked in the Mediterranean, “Chelsea”, on May 25 after she was hauled in with fishing nets out of breath and spent a night under observation at the new centre.
Biologist and researcher Robin Snape, of Spot, said: “She has a wildlife computers ‘Splash’ tag which alone cost $5,000 and a satellite transmitter with very accurate GPS that records depth too and will help us to better understand conflicts with fishing gear.”
The Taşkent team released its first rehabilitated juvenile green with a transmitter at Meritta on Sunday from a hotel boat 150 metres offshore. Turtle researcher and Near East University academic Dr Wayne Fuller and members of the Karşıyaka Turtle Watch turned out to watch the release.
The turtle, “Delta”, spent seven months at the Taşkent rehabilitation centre after she was found floating motionless at Girne’s Delta Marina by Fisün Sun. Almost drowned and suffering a lung infection, she began eating six weeks later after intensive treatment and almost doubled her weight, from 2.5kg to 4.6kg.
Meanwhile, Spot have attached transmitters to 16 of 25 turtles planned for release this year including only the third male green in the Mediterranean to be tracked, the first two juvenile loggerheads and Cyprus’s first adult male loggerhead.
“Chelsea” is one of four bycatch turtles tracked with the high resolution tags so far this year, with four more due for release. A further six loggerheads were tracked from Alagadi over the past two weeks, along with four female greens and one male released with the help of Yenierenköy EPD manager Ahmet Karabella and his boat.