A project coordinator said on Sunday that three sea turtles of a protected species were released off the coast of Sfax in eastern Tunisia this weekend after they were rescued and one of them was equipped with a tracking system.
The operation was carried out by the Sea Turtle Care Center in Sfax in the presence of about fifty people, many of whom were children. Since its inception in June last year, the Center has treated about 35 turtles as part of the Mediterranean Regional Project for the Conservation of Sea Turtles (Live Med Turtle).
“This turtle is a caretta caretta, a big-headed turtle that is common in Mediterranean and Tunisian waters,” said project coordinator Imad Jeribi, especially in Gabes Bay (central east). “The tracking device provided to us by the University of the Seas in Slovenia will allow us to follow the movements of this turtle, as it is a migratory species,” added a professor at the Faculty of Natural Sciences in Sfax. Attach the tracker to the turtle shell.
Turtles are often caught in fishing nets and it is the fishermen who bring them to the specialized care center in Sfax province. The center has placed markings on three of the turtles to make it easier to identify them in the future. According to Imad al-Jeribi, the Marwa turtle, equipped with a tracking system, “was accidentally caught by fishermen.” The researcher added that “identifying wintering, grazing and migration routes plays an important role in protecting these endangered species.”
