They had been waiting for days for the sea conditions to allow them to return to freedom, after spending several months recovering from the injuries they suffered in the waters of the Cantabrian Sea. They did so with the invaluable help of the veterinary team at the Asturias Marine Animal Recovery Centre (CRAMA), part of the Bioparc Foundation, which has now returned them to the sea, their natural habitat.
THE Caretta caretta They are the smallest and most abundant sea turtles in the Mediterranean Sea, although they can reach 120 cm in length and 120 kilos in weight. They like waters that are not too cold, which is why they are found in practically all the oceans and temperate seas of the planet. Thus, depending on their life cycle, they can be found in the open sea, in shallow areas, in coastal areas, in bays or estuaries.
Known as loggerhead turtles because of the ease with which fishermen capture them while they float on the surface, something they like because they are very curious, these marine companions suffer, like many other species, the consequences of the actions that accompany them. human beings, but also with climate change. Thus, as determined by the scientific community, accidental captures and habitat loss are the main reasons why its population has been classified as “vulnerable” globally.
At the end of March 2023, in Gijón, the CRAMA opened its doors, integrated into the Stranding Network of the Principality of Asturias, and in collaboration with the Bioparc Aquarium to be able to accommodate stranded animals found in poor condition at sea. Mainly turtles and seals, because when dolphins appear stranded on the coast, it is because their condition is too deteriorated and they approach the coast to die, which is why they are very complicated to rehabilitate, in addition to suffering great stress when it comes to being picked up.
This is explained by Susana Acle, head of veterinary medicine and research at the Bioparc of Gijón, who assures that it is important to have a space independent of the aquarium’s own facilities to deal with this type of case. And the work of collection, care and recovery had been done for some time at the Gijón aquarium, “it’s in our DNA”, but in a much more rudimentary way than the new center allows.
The first of the two turtles released into the sea today, “number one”, was found on the beach of Viodo, in the Asturian municipality of Gozón, at the beginning of last year 2023, in fact, it was in charge of inaugurating the Recovery Center. It was in very poor condition and had one of its fins strangled by plastic, which fractured it and had to be amputated. Acle explains that this specimen took a long time to recover because the degeneration of its tissues “punished the animal a lot”.
And the primary goal of this center is that the animals spend as little time there as possible and recover quickly with minimal human contact, because they are wild animals that must return to the sea as quickly as possible.
“Number one” was found by a couple, Arkadiy Sedinkin and his partner Maria, while they were walking by the sea. When they approached her, they thought she was dead, but it was Maria who detected a slight movement in the animal and they decided to ask some neighbors what the procedure was in such cases. They put her, very carefully, in a bucket of water, until they came to pick her up. Today, Arkadiy was one of the people who took her to the boat that would take her out to sea, under the watchful eye of Maria, who watched from the railing while rocking her little baby.
In the case of this turtle, and thanks to the collaboration of the University of Oviedo, an analysis allowed us to know its origin, and that the “number one” had arrived in the Cantabrian Sea from Colombia.
Over the months, “number one” has improved due to the countless health problems with which he arrived and has gained weight to gradually approach a complete recovery that would allow him to return to the sea. The veterinarian confirms that the turtle is doing perfectly with three flippers and that he has passed countless tests in deep pools to confirm his performance. Today he has returned to the sea and he has done so with a geolocator attached to his shell, which will provide information on his behavior, what he is doing and how he is progressing. “When he arrived, he had no reflexes, he looked dead,” recalls Acle, who does not believe that this turtle will have any trouble “looking for life” in the sea.
The second turtle, “number two”, was rescued three months ago in the port of Lastres (Colunga). It was missing an eye and suffered from a severe respiratory infection that led the veterinary team to keep it out of the water in case it drowned. Like its partner, it also eliminated large quantities, which is an indicator, according to Susana Acle, of the serious problem that our seas are experiencing due to the saturation of plastics that float in their waters and that the animals ingest, confusing them with food.
From the Marine Animal Recovery Center they work in marine conservation through the recovery of animals, they obtain very important information about the situation of the marine environment thanks to the rehabilitation work they carry out with the rescued species and they take advantage of it to disseminate and educate about the impact of our actions on the environment that surrounds us. This is the basis of the work of the center, says Susana, to raise awareness and educate: “if they don’t do it for the animals, at least they know that the plastics in the sea are also eaten by the fish that we will eat later,” she emphasizes.
Today was a very special day for the Recovery Center team, as they released the first two turtles that they managed, with great effort, to recover after months of intense work. There was excitement on their faces, but also sadness, even though they know that the sea is the place of these turtles, they will never see them again.
In the CRAMA there are still three other turtles that are still very weak and that, like their companions today, will be able to return to the sea at some point.
