Fingers pointed at fish farms after turtle deaths
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Doğan News Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Kasım 29, 2008 00:00
AYDIN - As the environmentalists call local administrators to take more protective measures for the Caretta carettas, Mandalya Bay is shaken with the deaths of endangered sea turtles near the fish farms in the area.
Rich in fish farms, Mandalya Bay, located between Aydın’s Didim district and Muğla, has witnessed the killing of five wild Caretta carettas in the last five months. Facing the danger of extinction, the Caretta carettas were hacked into pieces by an axe while on their way to the fish farms to feed the environmentalists asserted.
Mandalya Bay has turned into a death port for the loggerhead sea turtles, which come to the bay to eat the fish in the farms. Some of them die from becoming caught in fishing nets, while others are killed by humans.
Five losses recently
"Five Caretta carettas have been found dead in the area in the last five months," said Bahattin Sürücü, chairman of Ecosystem Protection and Nature Lovers Foundation, or EKODOSD.
Highlighting that they have been keeping track of Caretta carettas since 2004, Sürücü said these animals are deliberately killed by human hands. It is really disappointing to see the mature Caretta carettas killed in such a wild way; their necks cut and internal organs taken out.
"The fish farms have to use the ’Caretta caretta Dismissing Gadget,’ or TED. This method was used in many parts of the world rich in Caretta carettas, and proved useful. This will save many Caretta carettas if managed well. Moreover, a data network should be formed for the Caretta caretta," he said.
Issuing a warning
"Warning fishermen, tourism operators and fish farm owners," Sürücü said, "if we keep contaminating the seas, using jet skis and speedboats errantly and killing the animals, we will need to establish a cemetery for sea turtles."
"We need to protect sea turtles, which face the danger of distinction, and use the Anatolian coasts as their breeding areas, within the Bern and Barcelona agreements. If these animals become extinct, we cannot swim in the seas because of the jellyfish. We are all responsible for that," said Sürücü.
A Caretta caretta was recently found dead on the Altınkum coast in Aydın’s Didim district. The people who found the sea turtle called the Didim Underwater Research Foundation. Mustafa Or, representative of the foundation, took samples from the Caretta caretta in order to determine the cause of death.
"There was a big wound on its back. It seems that a boat hit the animal. The DNA test will reveal the real cause," Or said, hoping the cause of death was nothing more sinister.
Mandalya Bay has turned into a death port for the loggerhead sea turtles, which come to the bay to eat the fish in the farms. Some of them die from becoming caught in fishing nets, while others are killed by humans.
Five losses recently
"Five Caretta carettas have been found dead in the area in the last five months," said Bahattin Sürücü, chairman of Ecosystem Protection and Nature Lovers Foundation, or EKODOSD.
Highlighting that they have been keeping track of Caretta carettas since 2004, Sürücü said these animals are deliberately killed by human hands. It is really disappointing to see the mature Caretta carettas killed in such a wild way; their necks cut and internal organs taken out.
"The fish farms have to use the ’Caretta caretta Dismissing Gadget,’ or TED. This method was used in many parts of the world rich in Caretta carettas, and proved useful. This will save many Caretta carettas if managed well. Moreover, a data network should be formed for the Caretta caretta," he said.
Issuing a warning
"Warning fishermen, tourism operators and fish farm owners," Sürücü said, "if we keep contaminating the seas, using jet skis and speedboats errantly and killing the animals, we will need to establish a cemetery for sea turtles."
"We need to protect sea turtles, which face the danger of distinction, and use the Anatolian coasts as their breeding areas, within the Bern and Barcelona agreements. If these animals become extinct, we cannot swim in the seas because of the jellyfish. We are all responsible for that," said Sürücü.
A Caretta caretta was recently found dead on the Altınkum coast in Aydın’s Didim district. The people who found the sea turtle called the Didim Underwater Research Foundation. Mustafa Or, representative of the foundation, took samples from the Caretta caretta in order to determine the cause of death.
"There was a big wound on its back. It seems that a boat hit the animal. The DNA test will reveal the real cause," Or said, hoping the cause of death was nothing more sinister.