The presence of plastic on our coasts is a daily reality. Also for the animals that share our ecosystem. So much so that it is increasingly common to find remains of caps or microplastics in the stomachs of fish or birds. What is less common is to find a sea turtle while snorkeling in Lanzarote.
A bather rescued a loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) entangled in a plastic tarpaulin in the area of Barranco del Quíquere in Lanzarote. As reported by the instructor and manager of the Native Diving Josué Reyes diving school to La Voz, the rescue took place during the afternoon of this Sunday on the coast between Puerto Calero and Puerto del Carmen.
A colleague from the diving school descended between 12 and 15 meters in apnea to approach the turtle. Once he was close, he pulled the mesh and lifted the animal to the surface and cut the mesh with a knife.
The ADS Diversity protocol reveals that it is not recommended to pull the plastic in which the turtle is entangled, nor to cut it unless it is drowning. "If it has an infection in the fin that is trapped and the plastic is cut, it can spread to the rest of the body," other sources add.
The first thing to do is locate the animal and alert 112. At that moment, the island councils intervene through their stranding system. After that, the animal is transferred alive to the Recovery Center or for necropsy in case of death.
In this case, the team that rescued the turtle revealed in an Instagram publication that it did not present any apparent injuries and decided to release it back into the sea. They also added that in the case of finding an animal in this state, they should call the Wildlife Rescue Center at 696788177.
In this sense, the aforementioned protocol reveals that the correct thing to do is take it out of the water and call 112. It should never be released again.
