Two Loggerhead turtles, Johnny and Fajju, were returned to the sea today, during a turtle release event held at Gnejna Bay.
The turtles spent a number of months at the Turtle Rehabilitation Unit at Forti San Lucjan in Marsaxlokk, where they were cared for by aquaculture officer Charles Sammut and Nature Trust (Malta) volunteers, who help with cleaning, medication and feeding of the turtles undergoing rehabilitation.
They were under the medical observation of veterinary surgeon Anthony Gruppetta of St Simon’s Veterinary Practice in Mosta.
The turtles were released on the occasion of World Turtle Day (23 May) in the presence of Resources and Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino, Environment Minister Mario de Marco, 120 students who participated in the Young Reporters/EkoSkola programme, and Nature Trust volunteers, including the NGO’s Marine Rescue Team, which is made up of a dedicated team of volunteers who have MEPA permits to handle protected animals and who are on call on a 24/7 basis.
Following Johnny and Fajju’s release, short talks were given on turtles and their rehabilitation, marine wildlife rescue and jellyfish watching.
Air Malta has been supporting Nature Trust’s turtle rehabilitation centre project – which will involve an investment of €1.5 million – by means of the ‘Adopt a Turtle’ campaign. The centre will be the first of its kind and it will receive injured turtles, which currently undergo rehabilitation at San Lucjan, as well as other injured animals such as hedgehogs. By means of the ‘Adopt a Turtle’ campaign (donations can be made via the Air Malta website), Nature Trust has already managed to collect more than €3,000.
When turtles are picked up by fishermen, boat owners or divers, volunteers from the Wildlife Marine Rescue Team normally take the turtles to Forti San Lucjan, where aquaculture officer Charles Sammut follows their progress, keeping records of their size, weight, growth, the amount of food they eat, and any vitamins and medicines they are given. They are only released back to the sea when it is evident that they are healthy and growing steadily.
Nature Trust has been working in the field of marine rescue for more than 10 years; all its volunteers are trained by UK experts as marine, mammal and reptile medics as a means of providing first aid to the injured or sick animals as soon as they are rescued. This helps reduce the trauma for the animals and increases the chances of survival.
Despite being great travellers, marine turtles are under threat from fishing fleets. They get entangled in fishing lines, swallow hooks and plastic bags, and encounter other difficulties that could have fatal consequences unless they are taken to the rehabilitation centre for treatment.
The reptiles sometimes get caught on hooks while eating fishing bait; the hooks and lines cause infections that may lead to a cruel death, so fishermen are advised to take injured turtles to San Lucjan for treatment as soon as possible. In the case of long fishing trips, fishermen are advised to cut the line close to turtles’ mouths, avoiding the nylon getting into their digestive system, thus giving the turtles a higher chance of survival. Turtles have been around for more than 200 million years, but they are endangered due to human impacts.
The most commonly sighted turtles around the Maltese Islands are Loggerhead turtles, which can live up to 80 to 100 years. The last recorded turtle nesting in Malta was in 1960, but the fate of both the eggs and the female turtle was rather unfortunate, as the adult was killed and the eggs were stolen.
Nature Trust (Malta) is committed to raising awareness on these marine reptiles. Beach users in particular, are urged not to leave plastic bags lying around on beaches as turtles may end up swallowing them if they end up in the sea.