A new sea turtle rehabilitation centre has been opened up in Soneva Jani in collaboration with the ORP.
A turtle rehabilitation centre was opened at Noonu atoll's Soneva Jani yesterday.
In a press brief issued yesterday, Soneva said that the 'Noonu Atoll Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Centre' was established at the resort in collaboration with the Olive Ridley Project (ORP), a private organisation working to protect sea turtles.
The ORP already operates two sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation centres in the Maldives. However, Soneva Jani's facility is the biggest centre opened by the organisation so far.
This center is designed for sea turtles that do not require intensive care and are ready to be released back into the sea, Soneva said.
Soneva said the first sea turtle, a female named 'Nakaiy', was taken to the centre on the 14th of last month, before it was officially opened. The resort said that the turtle was taken there after it was rescued from a ghost net at sea near Lhaviyani atoll.
Nakaiy sustained severe injuries to the mouth, neck and flippers, which now prevents her from moving around on its own. Although, she has received the necessary treatment, and is recovering well at the centre, Nakaiy faces difficulty diving. So for the next few days, she will be receiving special diving lessons, including Targeted External Weight Therapy (TEWT) and underwater feeding sessions to teach her regular diving and feeding habits.
While research shows that 10 percent of plastic sea waste accounts for nets used for fishing, this was the reason why ORP was founded in 2013. British professor Dr Martin Stelfox founded the association when he worked as a marine biologist in Maldives, due to the unusual number of sea turtles found entangled in ghost nets.
The ORP's first rescue centre was opened in 2017 at Baa atoll's Coco Palm Dhunikolhu resort. Another dedicated sea turtle rehabilitation and rescue centre was opened at the One and Only Reethi Rah Resort in Malé atoll last year.
So far, the ORP has provided care for and released 141 sea turtles back into the wild.
According to Soneva, the centre at the resort will be managed by Spain's Sea Turtle Biologist Neus Segura, and local intern Nahwa Ibrhaim. The pair will run the centre under the direct supervision of the ORP veterinary team, the resort said.
Their work includes:
- Removing ghost nets from the ocean
- Rescue and treat injured sea turtles
- Monitor sea turtles' behaviour including their egg laying patterns
- Collect photo-ID and put together a database of sea turtles in Noonu atoll
Guests at the resort will be able to visit the centre and observe the work done there, Soneva added.
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