Turtles freed in Tunisia with tracking monitor - in pictures

Project uses technology to help save the Mediterranean's ailing species

Three rescued loggerhead turtles were released into the Mediterranean off Tunisia on Sunday, one with a tracking beacon glued to its shell to help researchers better protect the threatened species. All photos: AFP

People watch sea turtles find their way to the sea after being released on May 21, 2022, in the Tunisian coastal city of Sfax, about 270km southeast of the capital Tunis. - Three turtles of protected species were released into the Mediterranean sea from the central eastern coast of Tunisia, after being rescued, and one of them equipped with a electronic tag to follow its course. (Photo by HOUSSEM ZOUARI / AFP)

About 35 turtles have been cared for at the centre in the past year as part of the Mediterranean-wide Life Med Turtle project.

All of them were tagged, but one of them also had a phone-sized tracking beacon glued to its hard shell, which will track its progress as it moves across the sea.

"This beacon, given to us by the University of Primorska in Slovenia, will allow us to follow this turtle in its movements," said Imed Jribi, a science professor from the University of Sfax and a co-ordinator of the Life Med Turtle project.

"Identifying wintering, grazing and migration routes plays an important role in protecting this endangered species," Prof Jribi said.

The main risks to sea turtles in Tunisia are linked to fisheries. Some, including the three that were released into the wild, become entangled in nets.

The migratory turtles, which can live to as old as 45, are listed as "vulnerable" in the Red List of threatened species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Two other turtle species are found in the Mediterranean, green and leatherback turtles.

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