THE BEST FINANCE NEWS ON PAGES 18 22 Issue No. 1938
25 - 31 August 2022
MALLORCA • EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM
Credit: Balearic Islands Government
SEA TURTLE RECOVERY Tamsin Brown TECHNICAL staff from the Ministry of the Environment and Territory of the Balearic Islands Government and the Palma Aquarium Founda tion released a loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) back into the sea on Friday August 19 following its re covery. The turtle, named Papaya, is one of 22 that have arrived at Palma Aquarium this year. The animal, which was re leased in the Mondragó Nat ural Park, arrived at the cen tre in June. Papaya’s two front flippers and neck had become entangled in a dis carded fishing net. Fishing nets used to be made from rope, but are now usually made from nylon, a type of plastic. So far this year, a to tal of 15 turtles have en tered the recovery centre in Palma after becoming en tangled in nylon nets, and four more arrived after they ingested plastic.
GOING HOME: Papaya returns to the sea.
Such entanglement often causes infections in the flip pers that can spread throughout the body, en dangering the animal’s life if the plastic is not removed. However, despite the best intentions of would be res cuers, what they do is NOT
always the best for the tur tles. People who find a turtle entangled in sacks, nets, ropes or longlines are tempted to free it and re lease it again, this is some thing that should always be avoided. Anyone who comes across a protected species in trouble should ac tivate the 112 protocol. After notifying 112, take the turtle to whereever you are instructed (if you are at sea it can be taken on board in the shade and covered with a damp towel, until the end of the day’s sailing) where it can be attended to by the local veterinary team, and its wounds healed.
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