When the loggerhead turtle Nuca, as she was later named, was rescued from Torrevieja port in February she was in very poor health.
She had swallowed a fishing hook which had become lodged in her esophagus and one of her fins had been amputated in an accident, presumably a boat collision.
The authorities had been alerted about the plight of the turtle; she had been spotted swimming in the harbour area and feeding off scraps from the local fishing fleet.
Divers from the Oceanogràfic foundation travelled to Torrevieja to locate her.
The loggerhead was taken back with them to the sea life centre in Valencia, where a team extracted the hook and started treatment to nurse her back to health.
“The recovery made by Nuca during the following months showed that she would be able to return to the sea,” explained the Oceanogràfic foundation.
Before she was taken back to Torrevieja this week, a satellite transmitter was fitted to her shell to allow marine biologists to follow her progress and learn more about this endangered species.
Torrevieja town hall biologist, Juan Antonio Pujol said on Thursday: “By returning her to the sea today, a procedure which started in February has been completed and with any luck we could see her return to our coast in the coming years to lay her eggs.”
Torrevieja mayor Eduardo Dolón said that he hoped that by following the movements of the loggerhead turtle, the team would ‘contribute to improving our natural world’.
Photo: By Oceanogràfic
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