A massive leatherback sea turtle was released into the ocean at Praia da Rocha last weekend after being accidentally caught and wounded in fishing nets in Figueira da Foz.
The male turtle, believed to be around 40-years-old, received medical assistance for three days at a marine animals rehabilitation centre in Quiaios, Figueira da Foz, before being considered well enough to be set free.
Maritime police stood by as the team of marine biologists carefully let the huge creature go.
Marisa Ferreira, a member of the rehabilitation centre, told the Algarve Resident that the decision to set the turtle free off the Praia da Rocha coast was made due to a combination of factors.
“The conditions were not satisfactory to release it off the Figueira da Foz coast. Out of all the possibilities, we chose the Algarve because the conditions were adequate and the means to carry out the procedure were made available to us.”
Involved in the operation were the Southern Maritime Zone Command, the Portimão Naval Support Centre and the local Maritime Police, which provided the means of transportation to take the animal onto the beach and then into the sea.
Marisa Ferreira explained that due to these animals’ constant migration patterns the location where the turtle would be released was irrelevant.
“This wasn’t the first time we have released a turtle off the Algarve coast and we are extremely grateful to the local maritime authorities for their continued support of our work,” she concluded.
The leatherback turtle – sometimes called the lute turtle – is the largest of all living turtles, and this particular one measured an astonishing 1.80 metres and weighed approximately 300 kilos.
Leatherback turtles are characterised by a lack of bony shell.
