Two marine turtles were released after being treated at the Recovery Center of Palma Aquarium

The president of the Government, Marga Prohens has attended the release of the two turtles on the beach of ses Covetes, at Campos.

The turtles belong to the species Caretta caretta and have been baptized as Tita and Brotons. At the moment of rescuing  TIta, the 5th of June at the channel of Majorca, she had a weight of 31,6 kilos and a curved shell length of 64,2 centimeters. Once the facilities of Palma Aquarium checked that the animal had breathing sounds compatible with drowning. During its stay at the Center of Recovery it ejected a lot of plastics and was discharged the 25th of July.

Brotons was rescued in the same area the 11th of June and presented a length of 68,5 centimeters and a weight of 37,7 kilos. She was found with the right front flipper stranded in a ghost net. The first check they found a flipper affected and very swollen and sensitive. Furthemore, she also showed signs of dehydration. The 13th of June the flipper was amputated surgically and after treatment she was discharged the 25ht of July.

The two turtles were treated in the Recovery Center at Palma Aquarium, a center coordinated by the Wildlife Recovery Consortium of the Balearic Islands, an entity dependent on the Government.

This year there has been registered a total of 51 marine turtle strandings in the Balearic Islands, which 19 of them were alive and 32 dead. The Foundation Palma Aquarium points out that the majority of the causes of the stranding of these dead animals are unknown due to their advanced state of decomposition.

The popularly known Loggerhead sea turtle is the most numerous that you can find in the Mediterranean. In fact, the total number of rescued turtles are of this species, which they find in the balearic sea one of their main food sources.

The interactions with fishing, contamination, maritime traffic and disturbance of nesting areas are some of the problems the sea turtles face, despite the fact that the sectors invested in these problems are everytime more sensitive to the conservation of the habitats and the marine biodiversity.