DLNR and DFW are seeking information from the public regarding this green sea turtle, which was recovered in the waters at Smiling Cove Marina. A small puncture wound can be seen in the top right corner of the turtle’s shell.
THE enforcement team of the Division of Fish and Wildlife as well as the Department of Lands and Natural Resource’s Sea Turtle Conservation Program are seeking the public’s assistance regarding a speared green sea turtle that was discovered at Smiling Cove Marina on Sunday, Jan. 21, Enforcement Supervisor Ignacio Yiftheg said.
The turtle was first spotted upside down on the surface of the water, he added. It was later learned that the turtle’s shell was pierced with a spear from a speargun.
Sea turtles are a protected species.
Carey Demapan, an endangered species program manager at DLNR,
said the spear was still attached to a fishing line, which was caught on a rock and prevented the turtle from swimming away.
According to a media release from the DLNR, the turtle was taken out of the water “to be assessed and treated,” but later died.
Demapan said the turtle was a juvenile, with a two-foot-long shell.
She said DLNR is authorized to either bury, burn, or discard a dead turtle, but in this case, they burned it to prevent the taking of its shell.
Yiftheg reminds residents that they could be fined and sent to jail if they shoot turtles.
If you have any information about this case, contact the Sea Turtle Conservation Program at (670) 322-9830/34 or through its social media pages. To contact the DFW enforcement team, call (670) 664-6000.
