(ANSAmed) - ROME, AUGUST 17 - Suffocated by plastic, trapped
in nets, poisoned by waste and injured by blades: marine turtles
need help.
Every year more than 40,000 turtles die in the Mediterranean
due to accidental capture during fishing activities or due to
maritime traffic, water pollution or plastic that they mistake
for food.
On Friday, as part of Tartaday, a day dedicated to
safeguarding of marine turtles and their habitat, various
partners and centers for the rescue and treatment of marine
turtles taking part in the TartaLife project will be opening
their doors to visitors to illustrate their work and raise
awareness on the world of marine turtles.
Some centers will also be releasing turtles that have been
treated and are ready to return to life at sea.
The events can be found at www.tartalife.eu/it.
''The TartLife project and its partners, which are the past
five years have been working constantly, 365 days year-round, to
help the conservation of marine turtles,'' said Alessandro
Lucchetti of the Ancona branch of CNR-ISMAR, which is leading
the project.
''We did this by developing and distributing low-impact
fishing equipment, developing recovery centers, and training
fishermen on what to do in case of accidental capture. After
five years we can say that we have fishermen that are more
aware, responsible, and collaborative, and this is certainly the
most comforting result.''
Over 70% of the turtles recovered have plastic in their
gastrointestinal tracts, mostly floating plastic that the
turtles think are jellyfish.
However, turtles have also been found with cotton swabs,
pieces of nets, corks and small objects littering the sea.
(ANSAmed).
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