KUTA, Indonesia (Reuters) – Indonesian authorities launched 25 green turtles into the sea on the island of Bali on Wednesday, returning them to liberty after they were saved last month during a raid on unlawful traffickers.
The population of the endangered turtle, a secured types in Indonesia, has actually declined substantially in the last few years due to hunting, loss of beach nesting websites, over-harvesting of their eggs and being caught in fishing equipment.
Officials stroked and carefully patted the heads of the turtles as they were lined up on the beach, some digging their flippers into the sand before gradually pulling themselves into the sea as waves crashed over them.
There were 36 turtles in overall saved and the staying 11 will be launched next week.
Agus Budi Santoso, head of the Bali Natural Resources Conservation Center, stated the turtles needed to be assessed totally to ensure they were healthy and able to cope in the natural surroundings.
” If they can not adapt to the environment, we can not release them,” Santoso stated.
Indonesia has become a hub of global trafficking of marine turtles, feeding need in nations like Malaysia, Vietnam and China. Anybody founded guilty of involvement in the trade can be imprisoned for up to 5 years.
Santoso stated improvements in law enforcement had actually helped to decrease the sell sea turtles.
The green turtle, one the largest sea turtles, is also a victim of the worlds growing ocean plastics crisis and is known for eating plastic bags, misinterpreting them for jellyfish, according to World Wildlife Fund, which said lots of turtles had plastic in their stomachs.
Reporting by Sultan Anshori; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Ed Davies
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Turtles are seen being launched to the sea from the Indonesia resort island of Bali after over fifty endangered green turtles were rescued from poachers, in Bali province, Indonesia August 5, 2020, in this photo taken by Antara Foto/Nyoman Hendra Wibowo/via REUTERS
