Turtle Rescue - Scarborough

[Dezzer]

In short-

Turtle stuck on rocks in pot net
Cut net off rocks
Smash into rocks
Turtle near sinks me
Find rope cut into fin so tight that its impossible to cut it off
Tie turtle to boat
Turtle near sinks me again
Little boat, big turtle, blunt knife, wasn't happening
Call marine parks
Told a ranger will ring me back sometime today
Drift around for 1 1/2 hours
Ring them back. Talk to another bloke, explain the fin damage
He says their pretty tough, cut it off, she'll be right
Don't think so
Ring back, talk to another bloke
He rings Australia Zoo, they ring me
They say very important not to cut it off, we're on our way
Tow turtle to beach
They turn up in about half an hour from Beerwah!
Cut off rope with special turtle tool
Load her up into the Toyota
Take her to the zoo hospital for amputation
Will recuperate for a month or so in a turtle tank
Will be fitted with a satellite tracking device and released

They reckon they have had 4 amputees released with trackers and their all still going. Just takes a while for them to stop swimming in circles so they stay in the turtle pool until able to compensate. One 3 finner from Moreton Bay was seen laying eggs last year.

Got a couple of snaps and 2 flatties before all this.

[marty+jojo]

You should be rewarded with big snapper for your good deed.
Marty.

[004dam]

far out glad you saved it. alot of people would of admired and did nothing im sure

[HeadBanger]

Good on ya Dezzer, good to see you didn't just 'cut the rope' and let it sink into an inevitable death. It's good to hear that turtles can still survive with amputated limbs and such.

Cheers,
Kaidon

[Dantren]

Good on you Dezzer.
Glad to hear Australia Zoo is so sharp.

[Luc]

Well done Dezzer.

The greenies will now want to ban all crab pots because of the 'hundreds of turtles maimed and killed'.

Luc

[jtpython]

Your a good man to go to the trouble
Jt

[Midnight]

Well done that man!

And well done to the Aussie Zoo crew.

Cheers,
Myles

[Dezzer]

Well done Dezzer.

The greenies will now want to ban all crab pots because of the 'hundreds of turtles maimed and killed'.

Luc

The zoo folk said they get called out to 2 or 3 entanglements in pots per year.
Wasn't so much the pot that had her, rather the rope. Travelling with pot attached and spinning behind had twisted and knotted the rope incredibly tight around the flipper and pretty much buggered it. They are tough, it had been tangled for weeks by the looks.

[nigelr]

Well done that man!

And well done to the Aussie Zoo crew.

Cheers,
Myles

Hear Hear! Much good karma is owed to you Dezzer!

[wags on the water]

Nice work mate. I've seen fresh shark attacked turtle come up the beach and lay eggs. They are tough creatures.

[Fishbait]

Well done on your great efforts. A good result. Gotta be happy with that. May your next trip be rewarded with lots of big fish as a reward!

[bearessentials]

well done mate... most people would have probably been too scared to go near the turtle.. hopefully this paints a brighter picture about fisho's lookin after the environment.. unfortunately i tend to agree with luc, as the bloody greenies will probably use this against us.. in the long run though i hope karma looks after you and fills that quintrex up with SEQ's finest reds...

[QF3 MROCP]

The fact that we are always rescueing the Human Life, it's nice to see the Marine Life is still high on our agenda.

Great job well done by a fisherman who CARES.. And where's the media when you want them. Boating skippers are not all bad..

[Angla]

Great attitude from you and the zoo staff.

Should be more of it.

Cheers
Chris