Last week on the eve of World Environment Day, Nature Trust (Malta) and Air Malta celebrated the launch of the Adopt-a-Turtle campaign that will aid in raising awareness on the different species of turtles that are on the brink of extinction. The campaign will also raise funds for the new Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre which will be the next NTM project.

“We are pleased to have Air Malta’s support with this campaign to raise awareness on our turtles, which are all facing extinction. It takes the commitment of organisations such as Air Malta to make that vital change to save our environment,” said Vincent Attard, Executive President to Nature Trust (Malta). He added that other companies should follow this commendable example and help the local environment and NGOs in their work to improve our natural heritage which also helps to improve the economy.

Present at the launch, which took place at Xrobb l-Ghagin in Marsaxlokk, were Dr Mario DeMarco Parliamentary Secretary responsible for Tourism, Environment and Sustainable Development , Hon George Pullicino Minister of Resources and Rural Affairs, Mr Joe Cappello Air Malta CEO, Mr. Charles Cilia, General Manager Sales & E-Commerce Air Malta and Vincent Attard, Executive President of Nature Trust (Malta).

To make this campaign more accessible to the public, Air Malta dedicated a page on its website http://www.airmalta.com/adopt-turtle for people to visit either while booking online or browsing the site.

During the first phase of the campaign, visitors to the Air Malta website can give an open donation which will go towards the development of the Rehabilitation Centre – Turtle Area. Once enough funds are collected, the partners will then launch phase two which will be the Adopt-a-Turtle campaign. The public will able to adopt a turtle on a donation of 15 Euro and in return will receive a photo of the adopted turtle, information on turtles, a turtle soft toy and an adoption certificate.

All donations from this campaign will go towards the Rehabilitation centre – Turtle area. The whole project is expected to cost in the region of Eur 2.2 Million. The NGO will also be seeking to tap EU funding.

Speaking at the launch, Mr. Joe Cappello, Chief Executive of Air Malta said, “The environment is everybody’s responsibility. The airline’s environmental activism has become an integral part of the airline’s Corporate Social Responsibility programme and we are determined to continue fulfilling our social obligations whilst supporting organisations and initiatives that add value to our community.”

“Over the last years, Air Malta has been steadily working towards becoming more environmentally friendly. We are resolved to continue reviewing our operation procedures, introduce effective policy initiatives and encourage customer engagement whilst showing commitment and support to projects that help the environment,” added Mr. Cappello.

“Following the ‘Tree For You’ campaign, whereby we helped in giving back to the Maltese society greener recreational areas and a healthier environment, with this new project with Nature Trust (Malta) we are helping in giving back our society better seas,” concluded Mr. Cappello.

At the end of the activity, Mr Attard presented Mr. Cappello, the Hon Dr Demarco and the Hon Pullicino the first turtle soft toy that will be given to anyone sponsoring a turtle when the Adopt-a-Turtle campaign is launched.

Turtles have been around for millions of years, long before dinosaurs roamed the earth. Turtles are reptiles, that live in the sea, they have lungs and need to breathe air. This is why turtles spend a lot of time near the surface exposing themselves to more dangers, like getting caught by fishermen and hit by boats.

Turtles are cold bloodied creatures that cannot control their body temperature, this is why they like warmer waters and also spend their days basking in the sun, building up energy for the night when they spend their time in deeper waters searching for food. Instead of teeth, turtles have a beak-like jaw that is different for different species according to their diet. Turtles drink sea water and remove excess salt through tears.

Turtles live many years and some species mature at the age of 35. They lay their eggs on the same beach on which they where born and every year they make this long journey to lay their eggs. Female turtles lay hundreds of eggs, which they bury in the sand to keep them away from predators. After about 60 days the hatchlings break out of their shells and together they dig their way out of the sand. Under the cover of the night, the hatchlings instinctively make their way to the sea, where they spend most of their years before they return to lay their eggs. Many years back some of the beaches in Malta where birthing grounds for turtles.

There are 7 species of marine turtles, 3 of which live in the Mediterranean Sea. These 3 species are protected under the Environment Protection Act 1991 (Reptiles Protection Regulation 1992).

The three species found in Maltese waters all share one thing, they are facing extinction and will be wiped out if nothing is done to save them.

Nature Trust (Malta) is working closely with san Lucjan – Malta Aquaculture Research Centre where injured turtles are being rehabilitated.

When a species is endangered it means that it is facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild, in the near future.

Sea Turtle numbers are on the decline for various reasons. These include :

• accidental trapping and entanglement in fishermen’s long lines and nets; • getting caught on hooks while eating fishing bait; the hooks and lines cause infections that may lead to a cruel death; • ingestion of plastics bags, mistakenly eaten by the Sea Turtle as jelly fish; • strikes from boat propellers; • coastal development and destruction of nesting beaches; • destruction of feeding habitats such as sea-grass meadows, as a result of destructive fishing techniques, sedimentation, nutrient run-off from the land, insensitive touristic development and climate change; • decline of prey population for similar reason

One of the perils they meet is fishermen catching them by hook and line. Since they are protected the instinct is to cut them loose, however leaving a piece of nylon line attached will only cause one of the most long and painful death. The nylon becomes entwined inside their intestines and the turtles starve to death. This is why fishermen are encouraged to bring the turtles to shore, so under medical assistance, the hook and line can be surgically removed, to stop any internal damage. The turtles are then kept in rehabilitation, at San Lucjan in Marsaxlokk, where they are cared for by professionals and trained volunteers. After full recovery the turtles are tagged and released back into the sea. A release of seven turtles was carried out by MARC in collaboration with MEPA, Nature Trust (Malta) and Blue Flag.

In the next few months Nature Trust (Malta), will be presenting a proposal to MEPA for the setting up of a wildlife rehabilitation centre. It is hoped that works on this centre will start in the coming years. It will be equipped to deal with injuries on all kinds of creatures, like turtles, hedgehogs etc. It will even have an Intensive Treatment Unit (UTI), for seriously injured turtles.

The Adopt-a-Turtle pack will contain : A photo of the adopted turtle Information on turtles A turtle soft toy An Adoption Certification

Visit the Nature Turst website at www.naturetrustmalta.org to become an active member. Nature Trust (Malta) holds many events throughout the year, it is the Maltese partner for Ekoskola, WWF, Operation Delphis and also member of the Shark Alliance. For more information on our events and how you can actively play a part visit our website or call us on 21313150.

For those who wish to make a donation there is also an account with HSBC 039 069000 009.

Picture shows L to R: Dr. Brock Friesen – Chief Officer Commercial, Hon. Mario de Marco – Parliamentary Secretary responsible for Tourism, Environment and Sustainable Development, Mr. Vince Attard – Executive President to Nature Trust (Malta), Hon George Pullicino Minister of Resources and Rural Affairs, Mr. Joe Cappello Air Malta CEO during the launch.

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