A juvenile green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) was rescued last week after becoming trapped in a fishing net in the vicinity of the Kitty seawall.
According to the Protected Areas Commission (PAC), the turtle was caught last Tuesday by a few enthusiastic fisherfolk and was subsequently rescued by Sean Gonsalves, an animal rights activist who immediately contacted the relevant agencies.
In a statement, the PAC noted that government agencies with responsibility for monitoring sea turtles, including the commission and the Guyana Wildlife Conservation Management Commission (GWCMC), partnered with the WWF-Guianas, the Guyana Marine Conservation Society (GMCS), the University of Guyana and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Coast Guard to ensure the animal was rescued and released safely.
The turtle was examined for injuries and a measurement of the carapace (shell) length was taken. It was then tagged for identification purposes and released approximately 2 kilometers off the Kitty seawall away from fishing nets.
“The agencies expressed gratitude and a sense of pride that they were contacted and that the turtle was neither harmed nor killed. This is encouraging and certainly indicates that Guyana and Guyanese are becoming aware of the importance of guarding not only our protected areas, but the country’s wildlife resources. This incident we hope will be a motivation to other citizens to help us look out for our wildlife as we all aim to ensure that our national patrimony is preserved for generations to come,” the statement noted.
The commission said, too, that the WCMC and the PAC are also extremely thankful for the longstanding support of WWF-Guianas and GMCS in providing financial and technical support to better monitor marine turtles in Guyana.
It warned that the incidence of turtles being trapped in fishing nets will increase during this time of year, since the turtle nesting season commenced in early February and will last until August. As a result, it urged fishermen and the general public to be on the lookout during this period and to report any sighting of marine turtles.
Persons encountering marine turtles are asked to kindly call the following agencies: The PAC (227-2265 and 685-0933); the GWCMC (223-0940); WWF-Guianas (223-7802 and 610-7182) and the GMCS (600-7272).
