Turtle rescued from tangle

A TURTLE is recovering at an Equinac marine life rescue association centre after a Garrucha jet-ski company came across the creature tangled up in discarded fishing nets on Sunday afternoon.

The loggerhead turtle had a fishing line tightly wrapped round its front right fin, which was severely inflamed.

With the help of Guardia Civil, Mojacar-based British Equinac volunteers Alex Lawson and Adele Land and fellow volunteer Tony Navarro, from a local diving business, got the large turtle into a vehicle at Garrucha port. The turtle was then taken to the dive centre for an initial assessment.

Adele and Alex then recruited friends Clare Flatters Cooper and Tony Cooper to drive the turtle to Almeria in their larger vehicle, where they were met by more volunteers who took it to the Equinac centre in Almeriamar.

“We were delighted to be able to attend a live animal as, sadly, many of our callouts are related to deceased dolphins and turtles,” Adele told the Euro Weekly News.

Equinac posted heartfelt thanks on social media to everyone involved in the rescue effort of the turtle which the association has named Aquamund.

The association wanted to pay particular thanks to the jet-ski company’s Javier Martinez Ubeda. They say that, had it not been for him saving the creature, it would have lost its fin and probably died from starvation.

But Equinac also expressed its frustration that incidents like this happen at all.

“We are tired of seeing how the marine environment continues to be damaged, how mortal traps are still being left for marine fauna,” the association commented.