14 turtles found dead on a beaches in Abruzzo, Italy

It had already happened two years ago, in this same period of the year: at that time the tortoises involved were nine, all of the Caretta caretta species, eight of which (88.9%) died, all found on the beaches of Abruzzo on the 7th January. This year the phenomenon has been repeated, with even worse numbers: in the first week of 2019, more exactly from 4 to 6 January, reported by private citizens and by the personnel of the Coast Guard, along the coasts of Abruzzo and Molise are a total of 19 turtles were found, 14 dead (73.7%) and 5 alive. Signs of anthropogenic interactions such as entrapment and lesions due to propellers or hooks were found on 4 animals. The stranding occurred during a meteorological disturbance that caused heavy storms, that young and inexperienced individuals have not been able to cope with. As foreseen by the regional network for the beaching of cetaceans and turtles, the interventions were carried out by the staff of the Cetacean Study Center, in collaboration with the Veterinary Services of ASL and ASREM, the Coast Guard and the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Abruzzo. and Molise. “The turtles – explains Dr. Vincenzo Olivieri, director of the Cetacean Study Center of Pescara, which deals precisely with cetaceans and sea turtles – were victims of the intense fishing effort that characterized the days that preceded the holidays of end of the year The big sea of ​​these days has made the waves have transported to the shore the individuals in poor physical condition and those who died, which are obviously not able to resist the violence of the storms. A phenomenon that is unfortunately not unusual: especially in the Adriatic, our Center has for years experienced an intensification of findings in the phases of greater pressure from fishing.

Courtesy of asipress.it

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