Lantau Island, China is an unspoiled paradise made of virgin hills, green valleys, white sand beaches and wild trails. But a young green turtle (Chelonia mydas), trapped in an abandoned fishing net, near Pui O Wan, has died on the beautiful island off Hong Kong.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
Lantau Island, in China an unspoiled paradise made of virgin hills, green valleys, white sand beaches and wild trails. But a young woman died on the beautiful island of Hong Kong tartaruga verde (Chelonia mydas), trapped in an abandoned fishing net, near Pui O Wan.
An endangered species that has still lost a specimen. The turtle, with a carapace about 60 cm long, was found on Saturday morning, entangled in a net. It was identified by Iain Brymer, 49, who saw the body while he was at sea with his canoe.
"When I got close to the turtle I couldn't believe it, I tried to free it but I immediately realized it was too late" he said the man.
Volunteers from Sea Shepherd they immediately rushed back and brought the turtle back to the ground. There, officials from AFCD, the government's agriculture and fisheries department, were waiting for her. The autopsy revealed nothing abnormal, no disease suggesting a natural death.
According to Gary Stokes, head of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society for Southeast Asia, the turtle probably tried to catch a fish from the net and ended up trapped.
The association denounces that on the island fishermen often place their nets in the sea leaving them for one night: "It is a horrible invisible net that captures and kills everything". If they break they are abandoned in the waters, to the detriment of the animals. Such nets are also enemies of diving enthusiasts, who are advised to carry a knife with them to free themselves.
According to the government, five species of sea turtles have been identified in Hong Kong but only them turtles greens they reproduce here. Lamma Island's Sham Wan Beach is their breeding site and is a protected area, with limited access.
Since 2012, a ban on trawling has been imposed on the islands belonging to Hong Kong. Since then, the fauna has returned to repopulate the waters, including the turtles.
But here the young specimen of turtle green found the death, once again caused by the hand of man.
Francesca Mancuso
Gallery
READ also:
7 TURTLES FOUND DEATH BETWEEN MOLISE AND APULIA FOR MAN'S FAULT
CLIMATE CHANGE: THE EGGS OF SEA TURTLES 'SUFFOCATED BY THE RISING OF THE WATERS
10 ANIMALS AT RISK OF EXTINCTION THAT COULD DISAPPEAR IN 2016
