A critically endangered hawksbill turtle named Dennis has been released on the Great Barrier Reef after two years of rehabilitation. The turtle was rescued by volunteers from the Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre, found helplessly tangled in ghost netting and badly injured.
Ghost nets, or abandoned fishing material, continue to float through the ocean, endangering marine life. According to the Australian Marine Conservation Society, around 14,600 turtles have been caught in ghost nets across northern Australia in the past seven years.
Despite best efforts, rescuers had to amputate one of Dennis’s badly injured flippers. The estimated ten-year-old turtle slowly relearned how to swim and feed on its own, eventually receiving the all-clear for release last week.
Crew members released Dennis east of Cairns onto sheltered Moore Reef, in line with research suggesting juvenile hawksbills often settle into coastal or reef habitats with abundant resources. A satellite tracking tag, fitted in partnership with BioPixel Oceans Foundation, will allow researchers and the public to follow his movements via an interactive BioTracker.
Hawksbills are extensively hunted for their trademark shell, considered the most attractive for jewellery. Although researchers cannot be sure of his sex, conservationists are hopeful Dennis is male and can contribute to population stability of the endangered species.
