Green turtle released by Australian Seabird Rescue

From shark nets to fishing line there are many human made dangers in the ocean for marine creatures. Fortunately for one Green sea turtle, now called Winona, Australian Seabird Rescue were called in time to rescue her from Evans head

‘The turtle had fishing line embedded into her right flipper and also some line was found trailing from her mouth,’ said the general manager of Australian Seabird Rescue, Kathrina Southwell.

‘She was sent to our vet for an xray and there was no sign of any hooks internally so the fishing line was removed. Her flipper wounds were flushed daily and she received a course of antibiotics in case of infection.’

When Winona first came into care she weighed 12kg but at her time of release on Wednesday she had put on a healthy three kilograms. Leigha Aitken, who volunteers with Australian Seabird Rescue and Sea Shepherd, got to be the one to release Winona go back into the ocean off the coast of Ballina at the southern side of Flat Rock.

Shark nets

Australian Seabird Rescue said they would like to thank Sea Shepherd for bringing transparency to the community with their footage of marine life caught in the shark nets during the second trial.

Sea Shepherd Spokesperson Allyson Jennings said ‘We welcome this amazing opportunity to support Australian Seabird Rescue in the release of this Green sea turtle back into its ocean home without the risk of it ending up entangled and potentially dying in a shark net. We hope it lives a long life swimming freely thanks to the incredible care it received from Australian Seabird Rescue volunteers.

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