A database for sea turtle was created after a Hawksbill turtle was caught in a fishing net in Muri.
Hawksbill turtle being released to the lagoon
The Hawksbill turtle staying at Ocean Escape and healing up after being caught in a fishing net in Muri has been released.
She was kept at Ocean Escape’s saltwater pool to mend and get her strength back.
Jules Tamaariki of Te Ara o te Onu, says the turtle has been swimming well and started looking for food, so it was time for her to go back to the wild.
Before release, she was given vitamins and a small sample of flesh was taken from her for DNA. The DNA will be recorded in the Asia-Pacific database for identifying the location for its turtle trade.
Tamaariki says they are also creating own database for sea turtles seen here, to which the hawksbill is now recorded for the first time.
Terangi/Ariki (a name hasn’t yet been decided on!) was released into the Tikioki lagoon last week where there is a lot of food and no fishing nets.
“The hawksbill is critically endangered and not many of them are left in the world,” Tamaariki said.
Tamaariki continues to encourage fishermen to check on their nets regularly when put out in the lagoon and not to string it from beach to reef. She also encourages anyone interested in helping out and supporting the turtle society to get in touch with them, and there is a lot of work to do!
