Castelsardo: Cristina the turtle returns to swim freely in the sea
She had been rescued in the waters off Stintino, then hospitalized for three months and given loving care by the Asinara Recovery CenterPer restare aggiornato entra nel nostro canale Whatsapp
To the amazement and wonder of the many people present, the turtle Cristina regained her freedom, leaving from the Blue Flag beach “La Madonnina” in Castelsardo, in the town of Lu Bagnu. The turtle Caretta – caretta was rescued in the waters off Stintino by the fishing boat “Antonio Padre”, after being hospitalized and undergoing a three-month treatment period at Crama, the Asinara Marine Animal Recovery Center, in collaboration with the Asinara National Park Authority.
Rescued in March during a fishing trip by a Stintino fishing boat, in difficulty and seriously weakened, she has been restored to strength. Now she is swimming freely again off the coast of Castelsardo. The specimen at the time of release measured 42 centimetres in length, with a weight of 10.70 kg, of sub-adult age. "She was immediately taken into care by the medical-scientific staff of the facility who visited her and started all the necessary checks, and after these months her conditions have finally improved enough to allow her return to the sea. The release represents a symbolic and concrete moment of restitution to nature, as well as an opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of protecting sea turtles, often victims of interference with fishing activities, ghost nets in which they remain trapped, longline hooks in the mouth cavity or in the digestive tract, trawl and gill nets, ingestion of foreign bodies, such as plastic bags mistaken for jellyfish that are part of the natural diet of these reptiles; impact with motor boats, which cause trauma and wounds on the carapace or head, sometimes lethal; debilitating pathologies that cause the animal to beach; spills or presence of oil", explained the Councilor for the Environment of the City of Castelsardo Christian Speziga. The Municipality of Castelsardo, the Asinara National Park Authority with the extraordinary commissioner Gianluca Mureddu, the Crama, the Harbour Master's Office with the delegate of the port of Castelsardo, the Castelsardo station of the Forestry and Environmental Surveillance Corps, the Carabinieri of the Cites, the Cvsm Volunteer Maritime Rescue Corps - Civil Protection of Castelsardo, Plastic Free Castelsardo, Stintino and Sorso, the local sports - environmental association Bulli Surf Club participated in the liberation.