But thanks to a unique partnership between the Florida-based Sea Turtle Conservancy and the new rum, Naked Turtle Rum, the fight to help protect sea turtles is getting a boost.

Naked Turtle, which is distilled and produced in St Croix in the US Virgin Islands, has reached out to the Gainesville, Fla.-based Sea Turtle Conservancy, the world’s oldest sea turtle research and conservation group, for a partnership.

“Obviously picking up on the idea of turtles being in the name and the fact that it’s produced in the Caribbean, where there are a lot of sea turtles, they had really made a decision to do something to support sea turtle conservation,” says David Godfrey, executive director of the Sea Turtle Conservancy. ”

After a period of discussions, the two sides agreed on a major push: combating the issue of light pollution.

For sea turtles both in Florida and the Caribbean, artificial lights from beachfront developments, businesses or homes can disorient both nesting females and hatchlings. The hatchlings in particular are drawn toward the light, often leading to their demise.

There are new technologies that can mitigate the problem, however, from keeping lights low to finding bulbs that emit only certain colours — not the full spectrum of light, which is what can affect the turtles.

“[Naked Turtle] wanted the rum to take on that campaign with us,” Godfrey says.

Now, Diageo’s Naked Turtle and the STC have a new campaign is called “Kill the Lights, Save the Turtles,” which has begun by hosting a series of “Nocturtle Parties” at Florida establishments where the STC has been working to implement turtle-friendly lighting strategies.

“It doesn’t have to be as drastic as, ‘let’s turn off all our lights and live in darkness on the beach during the summer months,’” Godfrey says. “There’s a lot of technology that’s been developed to deal with the problem of beachfront lighting for sea turtles.”

The character of the partnership, based more on raising awareness rather than strictly revenue (although Naked Turtle has already donated $40,000 to the Sea Turtle Conservancy), is one Godfrey says can work for the long term.

“They are really amped up about this being a long-term part of what this brand stands for — they really seem to want to have it be something long-term and have our partnership grow as the brand grows,” he says.

The goal, he says, is to bring the message of awareness to a broader group of people than those already interested in conservation issues.

“This is something that has an opportunity to reach anyone 21 older —you think about the marketing reach of Captain Morgan rum, the large young adult and adult audience that’s reached with a major brand — it’s so far beyond something we can achieve with a sea turtle conservation group,” he says. “It opens up new avenues for communicating our message.”

* * *

Now, for the review.

Naked Turtle, produced in St Croix, is distilled five times with local water from the Virgin Islands and bottled “naked,” meaning it never touches the inside of an oak barrel.

The rum is, naturally, clear, with a very sweet aroma with notes of vanilla and a hint of coconut.

The flavour profile is dominated by hints of vanilla, coconut and white sugar.

What really stands out is the smoothness. The common trap into which most white rums fall is an accentuated taste of pure alcohol — but Naked Turtle avoids it.

It may be new, but Naked Turtle is immediately in the upper echelon of white rums on the market.

While it can be enjoyed simply on the rocks, we recommend it with ice and a splash of pineapple juice.

— CJ

via http://www.caribjournal.com/2013/05/16/rum-journal-saving-caribbean-sea-turtles-with-rum/

Kate Siena handles Porter, an injured male snapping turtle, at the Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre Tuesday. Porter and another injured female turtle were flown to the Peterborough trauma centre this past weekend. FILE PHOTO / THE OBSERVER

Who says turtles can’t fly?

Not a group of volunteers who went the distance to help a 13 lb. snapping turtle this weekend.

When a driver found Porter the turtle critically injured on a Port Franks road Friday, wildlife rescuers knew he would need more help than they could provide locally.

“We patched up his shell, but his upper and lower jaws were injured so severely,” said Peggy Jenkins, of Heaven’s Wildlife Rescue in Oil Springs. “The quickest way we could think to get him to the Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre was flying him.”

On Saturday, Porter and another injured turtle made the one-hour airplane ride from Sarnia airport to the Peterborough turtle hospital.

Windsor pilot Rick Woodall flew the pair of turtles after he received an email request from Pilots N Paws.

The non-profit works with pilots who volunteer their time and aircraft to transport animals across Canada.

Woodall admits he was initially skeptical of flying turtles. However, his 13-year-old urged him on to make the trek.

“My daughter insisted if it was a turtle, I’d have to do it,” he said.

Woodall stowed the turtles in boxes in the back seat of his two-seater plane.

“They were nice and quiet,” he joked. “I think they liked having a little species camaraderie with themselves.”

Porter has since undergone surgery at Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre. His jaws have been realigned and he is expected to make a full recovery.

Drivers should be mindful of turtles crossing roads this time of year, Jenkins said. Female turtles are especially active as they’re busy laying eggs.

Seven of Ontario’s eight turtle species are classified as at-risk of extinction, including the snapping turtle, Jenkins noted.

She finds drivers typically won’t stop for turtles who have been hit.

“Even if (a female turtle) doesn’t make it, we can harvest the eggs and incubate them and then the young are released,” Jenkins added.

Woodall admits some of his pilot buddies are teasing him for flying turtles, nicknaming him the “Turtle Whisperer” and the “Turtle Pilot.”

However, he now has a cool claim to fame.

“I can now put two turtles as passengers in my logbook,” he laughed.

via http://www.theobserver.ca/2013/05/16/volunteers-go-the-distance-to-help-injured-snapping-turtle

(Forimmediaterelease.net) LOS ANGELES, California – Green Globe member the Rosalie Bay Resort, located on Dominica in the Caribbean, is one the world’s best ethical destinations. This eco-resort is a pioneer on Dominica when it comes to the environment. Rosalie Bay’s owner, Beverly Deikel, partnered with WIDECAST and other organizations to establish a sea turtle conservation program on Dominica.

The Rosalie Sea Turtle Initiative engages locals and guest in opportunities to help in the recovery of sea turtles on the island and throughout the Caribbean. The program includes night patrol during nesting season, clean up on nesting beaches, education programs and data collection. In 2003 there were only seven leatherback nests. By 2010 there were 69 nests of three species of sea turtles: leatherback, hawksbill and green – and a 100% survival with all nesting species protected.

Rosalie Bay Resort owner, Beverly Deikel, has been featured in the latest episode of the EX-PATS video series, entitled “Baby Turtles in Dominica from Grandbabies in Minneapolis.” The former Minnesota native moved to Dominica more than 10 years ago, and now calls the Caribbean island home.

In the 20-minute episode, host Savannah Jane Buffet travels to Dominica and joins Beverly Deikel at Rosalie Bay Resort. The episode, which is available for on-demand viewing on YouTube, shares Beverly’s inspiring journey to the Nature Island, leaving behind her children and grandchildren in Minnesota to create Rosalie Bay Resort, save the endangered sea turtles and find love.

In addition to Rosalie Bay Resort, the EX-PATS episode showcases many other locations on Dominica. Savannah and Beverly spent time at Trafalgar Falls, set sail on a catamaran to view stunning coastal views of the island, met with Simon George, President of the Nature Enhancement Team (NET) at Rosalie Bay, and had the incredible opportunity to witness baby green sea turtles emerge from the nest and venture out to sea. One of Beverly’s daughters and her close friend were also interviewed and featured in the show.

“It has been an incredible honor to be selected by Travel + Leisure and included in the EX-PATS show,” said Beverly Deikel, Owner of Rosalie Bay Resort. “The unsurpassed natural beauty of Dominica first captured my attention, but it is the people and the sea turtles that have captured my heart. I hope this show inspires more people to visit the Nature Island and follow their dreams.”

The EX-PATS episode first aired on May 9, 2013. Since then more than 1,000 people and counting have viewed the video.

EX-PATS is a video series that airs on the Reserve Channel on YouTube. The series is in cooperation with Travel + Leisure magazine and profiles ex-patriots who made the leap to move to another country. The episode was filmed in October 2012.

ABOUT ROSALIE BAY ECO RESORT

Rosalie Bay is an eco-boutique and wellness resort nestled in the foothills of the Morne Trois Pitons where the Rosalie River meets the black sand beaches of the Atlantic Ocean. Rosalie Bay is a pioneer in its environmental efforts with the largest wind turbine in the region and founding Dominica’s sea turtle conservation program. The hand-built sanctuary seamlessly blends into its 22-acre surroundings with 28 spacious rooms and suites, waterfront spa, wellness program and organic cuisine. Stunning natural beauty and modern touches work in perfect harmony to create a vacation that is simply magical.

Media Contact: Julie Harper, Public Relations, MP&A Digital&Advertising, E-mail: julie@madiganpratt.com , Tel. (757) 645 3113

via http://www.forimmediaterelease.net/pm/8834.html

Nesting season is approaching, residents asked to watch for crossing turtles

NORTHUMBERLAND — At a little more than a snail’s pace, turtles will begin inching themselves across roads in Northumberland County soon — a task that can be deadly for some.

The Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority (GRCA) is asking motorists to keep an eye out for turtles crossing roads as they travel to their nesting grounds. It’s also asking people to stop stealing turtle crossing signs.

Ken Towle, an ecologist with the GRCA, said Hamilton Township staff have been putting up turtle crossing signs in the Cavan Road/Rice Lake Drive area of Bewdley after four signs, originally put up two years ago, went missing — the last one, only a few weeks ago.

“I guess they are viewed as a novelty,” Mr. Towle said. “But there is a serious side to this that I really hope people will appreciate enough to leave the signs alone.”

June is usually prime nesting season for turtles, Mr. Towle said, but with the recent stretch of warm weather, it could start sooner — as early as mid-May.

Every spring, Mr. Towle said snapping turtles leave the water to nest.

The gravel shoulders of roads are attractive nesting sites and many turtles may congregate in certain areas, increasing the risk, according to Mr. Towle.

“The majority that are being killed on the roads every year are mature females carrying eggs,” Mr. Towle said, adding it could lead to rapid declines in population.

Ontario has designated the snapping turtle as a species at risk and although they may seem common, the gradual increase in roads and traffic in the province has had a significant impact on the population, said Mr. Towle.

Even without the risk of crossing roads, less than one per cent of turtles survive to reach adulthood — mostly due to predators eating eggs and young turtles. He added seven out of Ontario’s eight turtle species are now listed as endangered, threatened or of special concern.

The Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre, a hospital in Peterborough for injured wild turtles, reported the hospital admitted 647 turtles in 2012. The hospital treats turtles with broken bones, shells and other injuries, before releasing them back into the wild when healed.

“Not all were injured, but we did admit many hatchlings and adult females who were hit by cars,” said Kate Siena, the hospital’s development and sustainability coordinator.

Of the 229 that were injured, Ms. Siena said 60 per cent survived.

“Turtles are incredibly resilient creatures,” she said. “It’s incredible what they can recover from.”

Prior to 2012, the hospital, which opened in 2002 and admits turtles from all over Ontario, was receiving 50 to 80 turtles annually. Although the hospital receives many females who die eventually, last year staff were able to extract and incubate 1,000 eggs — 418 of which survived.

To date, Ms. Siena said the hospital has received 44 turtles for treatment.

“Our peak season for injured turtles has started,” she said. “The floodgates have opened.”

As for the increase in the number of injured turtles being admitted, Ms. Siena believes it’s through the hospital’s outreach and education program that more people are aware of the hospital and calling to report injured turtles.

If anyone comes across a turtle on the road which is injured, Ms. Siena asks they call the trauma centre right away.

“If possible, keep the turtle in a plastic bin, on a wet towel in a dark and quiet place,” she said. “If it’s dead, still call us. We can usually harvest the eggs.”

If on the road and uninjured, if it’s safe to do so, try to move the turtle across the road in the direction it was going, Ms. Siena said.

“People assume it’s best to put the turtle back in the water where it came from,” she said. “But if it’s a female looking to nest, it will try and cross the road again.”

via http://www.northumberlandnews.com/community/life/article/1617859–turtles-making-annual-trek-across-northumberland-county-roads

ROADKILL: Vehicle-wildlife collisions continue to increase, endangering both people and animals. Image: Courtesy of Matthew J. Aresco.

In the 1960s widening U.S. Highway 27 just north of Tallahassee cut Florida’s Lake Jackson into two sections. When water levels fell too low in either part, thousands of turtles, frogs, snakes and alligators would hit the road to head for the other side—where cars and trucks often hit the animals. In February of 2000 Matt Aresco, then a PhD student at The Florida State University in Tallahassee, drove through and was stunned at the sight of dozens of crushed turtles. For the next five weeks he patrolled the road between the lakes, once counting 343 dead turtles in 10 days. “It was so heartbreaking to see dozens of turtles, animals that could be 50 or 60 years old, smashed before they make it two feet onto the road,” he says.

Using photos he snapped of the carnage, Aresco convinced the state transportation department to provide nylon fencing, which he set up that April along 1,200 meters on either side of the highway. Between April and August, his makeshift fence intercepted nearly 5,000 turtles that otherwise may have ended up as roadkill.

Across the U.S. vehicles hit an estimated one million to two million animals every year, the equivalent of a collision every 26 seconds, according to insurance industry records. But official numbers of animal–vehicle crashes include only reported collisions, which generally means those with large animals and that result in disabled vehicles, says Jon Beckmann, a biologist with the New York City–based Wildlife Conservation Society. “If you run over a raccoon or skunk, those are rarely reported. When you include those smaller animals, the numbers are probably well up in the millions more.”

The animal generally comes out on the losing end of the encounter. Aresco calculated that in 2001 a turtle attempting to cross U.S. 27 had a 2 percent chance of surviving. He even witnessed a turtle shot through the air like a hockey puck after being struck, and says there are documented cases of these shelled projectiles going through windshields. And, according to the Federal Highway Administration (FHA), death by car represents a serious threat to 21 endangered or threatened species, including Key deer, bighorn sheep, ocelot, red wolves, desert tortoises, American crocodiles and Florida panthers. Nine panthers were killed by vehicles in 2011, 16 in 2012 and five as of April 26 this year, says Darrell Land, leader of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s panther team. Those numbers represent significant losses for a population of only 100 to 160 animals that continues to lose habitat to development.

Image: Courtesy of Matthew J. Aresco.

Vehicles, according to Beckmann, Aresco and other scientists, may well be one of the biggest threats to U.S. wildlife populations. According to the Insurance Information Institute, collisions between 2008 and 2010 were more than 20 percent higher than the previous five years. And people in the vehicles suffer consequences, too. More than 90 percent of collisions with deer and nearly 100 percent of those with larger elk and moose cause damage to the car or truck involved, the FHA reports. The Insurance Information Institute estimates that collisions with deer alone cause about 200 human fatalities each year, plus tens of thousands of injuries and $3.6 billion in vehicle damage. The number of deer-related claims paid out by just one insurance firm—State Farm—increased nearly 8 percent while all other claims declined by more than 8 percent. And bad things can happen even when there’s no actual collision: Drivers swerving to avoid an animal can run into each other, or off the road. Solutions do exist, although those fighting to protect animals from death by vehicle have found that putting them into practice often proves challenging.

Safer crossings
Designing roads with wildlife in mind in the first place would make the biggest difference. “Highway 27 should have been built as a bridge, for example,” Aresco says. “It’s easier to plan a new road, perhaps put it in a better location or build bridges or wildlife crossings, from the start.”

But that strategy, of course, does nothing to improve existing roads or the larger problem of how those roads affect habitats. The U.S. highway system includes almost 6.5 million kilometers of road, not counting dirt or county ones. Those kilometers honeycomb even the most remote parts of the country, fragmenting habitat and making it hard for animals to avoid encounters with pavement. “Ungulates such as deer, pronghorn, moose and elk migrate seasonally, and roads represent a real challenge,” Beckmann explains. “And carnivores move across huge areas—grizzly bears, mountain lions and wolverines can have home ranges of several hundred square miles, which gives them a high probability of crossing roads.” Reptiles and amphibians, like those turtles crossing Florida’s U.S. 27, also travel annually from hibernation to breeding sites.

On those 6.5 million existing kilometers the next best thing is providing a safe way for animals to get from one side to the other. Specially designed crossings, typically vegetation-rich over- or under-passes, have proved remarkably successful at reducing animal–vehicle collisions. But proper design matters.

The makeshift barrier Aresco put up in April 2000 funneled Lake Jackson wildlife through a single 3.6-meter drainage culvert. This often required animals to travel relatively long distances, putting them at risk of overheating and predation. Aresco continued to walk the barrier daily until August 2006, ferrying turtles, snakes and frogs across the busy, four-lane road—first in one direction, then the other, in response to water conditions. In those four years he recorded more than 11,000 animals, including 9,000-plus turtles, attempting to cross. Hundreds continued to die doing so; some climbed over the barriers, and the fencing material degraded rapidly in the hot Florida sun and was repeatedly damaged by mowers, vandals and storm runoff. The biologist once broke his hand making repairs, sporting a cast for six weeks.

Image: Courtesy of Matthew J. Aresco.

Aresco saw the need for a more enduring solution, and set out to find one. He formed the nonprofit Lake Jackson Ecopassage Alliance in 2002, and the group convinced the Florida Department of Transportation (DOT) to conduct a feasibility study. Completed in 2004, it recommended three to four additional culverts and permanent barriers on both sides of the highway. The local transportation authority approved the recommendation, but use of federal funds required an environmental study, a process that stretched into early 2007. Meanwhile, Hurricane Dennis dumped nearly 23 centimeters of rain in July 2005, damaging much of the still temporary fencing and resulting in a car killing a two-meter-long alligator. Rain broke fence sections again in September 2006. By then Aresco had gone to work as director of Nokuse Plantation, a private wildlife preserve two hours away, and had stopped his daily patrols. “That was really hard, knowing there were times there would be breaks in the fence and turtles killed as a result,” he recalls. “But it just convinced me even more there needed to be a permanent solution, not just one person to maintain these flimsy fences for the rest of time.”

Roadkill to nil
Aresco continued to face setbacks. While he and Alliance volunteers labored to replace the entire length of fence in September 2007, a passing motorist stole eight rolls of the new, UV-resistant material. Nearly 45 centimeters of rain from Tropical Storm Fay damaged the barrier yet again in 2008. Finally, under increasing public pressure, the regional transportation authority and then the DOT made the passage a priority. Construction began in September 2009, and one year later, 1.2-meter-high plastic walls directed wildlife into four culverts along 1.6 kilometers of U.S. 27. The cost: only $3 million; the result: turtle roadkill dropped to zero. That was an “extremely satisfying” end to 10 years of hard work for Aresco. “From the first day I went out there and discovered the problem, putting an end to it motivated me, no matter how long it took.”

Elsewhere, wildlife crossings have achieved similar success. Vegetated overpasses spanning major interstates in Canada have reduced vehicle collisions with mule deer and elk by more than 90 percent, and in southern Florida underpasses and barrier fences have reduced panther mortality to almost zero along about 110 kilometers of road. “We know overpasses and underpasses are highly effective when done right,” Beckmann says. The trade-off is that crossings can be expensive.

Less expensive options include reduced speed limits and “animal crossing” warning signs. But Beckmann says data show that speed zones don’t reduce collisions, at least not without increased enforcement. Warning signs may at least increase awareness, but again, without other kinds of mitigation, probably aren’t very effective, he says. For example, despite “panther crossing” signs and reduced nighttime speed limits in areas without crossings, vehicle strikes remain the number-one human-related cause of death for Florida panthers. In Nevada “bear crossing” signs installed in the Lake Tahoe area had no apparent effect on the annual number of vehicle–bear collisions, which have increased almost 20-fold since monitoring began in the mid-1990s—primarily, Beckmann believes, due to the allure of human garbage, more people and traffic moving into bear country, and an increase in the overall bear population.

Roadside animal detection (RAD) systems—computerized signs with flashing lights tripped when an animal breaks a light beam—cost more than simple warning signs but less than most crossings. These can reduce collisions with large animals, the highway administration reports, but wind may trigger false warnings, animals sometimes fail to set off the lights and the trips aren’t currently designed for smaller animals. “There is a lot of potential for this technology,” Beckmann says, “but reliability has been the limiting factor so far.”

In 2012 RADs set to detect panthers went up along two particularly deadly kilometers of U.S. 41 in Florida’s Big Cypress National Preserve, the first such system used for animals besides larger deer, elk and moose. The University of Central Florida Department of Biology launched a two-year monitoring study in 2012 to determine the system’s effectiveness in detecting and protecting panthers. Researchers survey drivers, look for animal tracks where system logs show a trigger and intentionally trigger the sensors to see whether drivers slow down, according to U.C.F. biologist Daniel Smith.

Despite some successes in reducing mortality in specific areas, millions of kilometers of road remain where animals have no protection at all. Until they do, there simply aren’t enough Arescos to go around.

via http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=roadkill-endangers-endangered-wildlife

Charleston, S.C. (PRWEB) May 15, 2013

May 23rd is the big day! Three sea turtles rehabilitated at the Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Rescue Program will be released back into the Atlantic Ocean. The sea turtles being released suffered from a variety of injuries including entanglement and cold stunning. Join us on at the Isle of Palms County Park at 4:00 p.m. for the first release of the season, which is being held in partnership with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) and the Charleston County Parks and Recreation Commission (CCPRC). The event is open to the public; all attendees should plan to carpool, arrive early, and expect to pay for parking at the county park.

via http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/5/prweb10737985.htm

The campaign was part of the Fourth Annual ‘Masirah Festival for Loggerhead Turtles’ and included a host of funfilled activities such as beach clean ups and football games funded by BP Oman, a press release said. Omar al Riyami, community outreach manager of ESO, said, “We believe that working hand in hand with the community is fundamental to our mission of connecting people living in Oman to their environment so they become agents of change. We are driven by a commitment to protect our natural and marine habitat and hope our work in Masirah will lead to the development of a National Turtle Conservation Strategy which is essential to protecting the 30,000 females Loggerhead turtles that are in Oman alone.”

Members from the society also had the opportunity to meet with H E Sheikh Sulaiman bin Salim al Mahrouqi, Wali of Masirah, Saleem al Junaibi, acting director of the Department of Environment and Climate Affairs in South Sharqiyah, and local fishermen to discuss ways on reducing the bycatch of Loggerhead turtles, along with other sea creatures. These incidental captures are the greatest threat to the marine environment, wasting a valuable natural resource and causing dramatic declines in populations of many marine species. The Loggerhead turtle is considered an endangered species and is categorised under the red list by the International Union for Conversation of Nature.

via http://www.theweek.co.om/disCon.aspx?Cval=7031

Sunshine Coast’s UnderWater World today (Wednesday 15 May) launched a major new advance to its successful turtle rehabilitation program, with rescued turtle ‘Jamieson’ the first turtle to be fitted with a satellite tracking system.

An olive ridley sea turtle officially named ‘Jamieson’ today, after Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson, will be the first turtle to be tagged, released and monitored in real-time.

Turtle tagging will build on the success of the rescue and rehabilitation program, which has already seen 67 turtles cared for at UnderWater World in the past year, with the animal team, and eventually visitors, able to monitor and track the progress of rehabilitated turtles once they are released back into local seas.

Mayor Mark Jamieson was on hand today at UnderWater World’s turtle hospital to meet his namesake ‘Jamieson’ and watch the tagging process unfold.

UnderWater World’s Head Curator Mark Smith said Jamieson, who was rescued on Fraser Island and brought to UnderWater World six months ago with floating syndrome, has been fitted with a satellite tracking device to its shell, and is set to be released off the coast of Mooloolaba next week.

“This way we’ll be able to identify the location of turtles, depth of water, water temperature and time, which gives us and other researchers a better understanding of how turtles adapt to their surrounding environments after rehabilitation,” he said.

“On a larger scale, tagging will also allow researchers and government bodies to detect whether turtles are congregating in a shipping lane and at risk of being injured again. This data could even then be used to change legislation to help protect the animals.”

The UnderWater World turtle team, which includes six marine specialists and a veterinarian, along with the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection and the University of Queensland Zoology Department will have access to huge range of data about the released turtles.

Previously, all rescued turtles were tagged with a coded, stainless steel tag. The codes were logged into StrandNet a government-managed animal tracking system, which meant rehabilitated tagged animals could only be tracked if they were either injured again or caught by researchers, who could then check the code in StrandNet for the animal’s history.

The new satellite tracking system means UnderWater World team and researchers can access real-time information about each turtle tagged – tracking the turtle’s location, depth and movement.

In the next few months, UnderWater World visitors will also be able to track the rehabilitated turtle journeys on TV screens that will be fitted in the attraction’s Turtle Temple zone.

UnderWater World has been caring for sick and injured turtles for 24 years and estimates 829 turtles have been nursed during that time.

Mr Smith said the UnderWater World turtle rehabilitation program has been increasingly effective at raising awareness on the Sunshine Coast of the plight of sea turtles and turtle tagging was the next big step.

“We’ve had tremendous results in raising awareness and educating the public about these endangered animals, and what to do with an injured turtle, and now it’s time to develop this initiative further and monitor where these turtles go after being cared for at UnderWater World.”

“When a sick or injured turtle is brought into the attraction, treatment begins in Turtle Hospital where we assess the turtle, provide good quality water, food and if necessary medication,” he said.

“After Turtle Hospital, the turtles are then moved into progressively larger tanks and in the final stage of recovery they are transferred into the attraction’s Turtle Temple zone where they remain for a month until they are ready to be released.”

UnderWater World has been involved in rehabilitating sea turtles for many years and last year invested $4m into the new ocean tank, including the Turtle Temple zone as an integral part of UnderWater World’s marine conservation program.

via http://viewnews.com.au/sunshine-coast/2013/mayor-jamieson-launches-tagged-turtle-namesake-456843/