Turtle washed ashore entangled in fishing net set free by naval personnel

Naval personnel today (20^th July 2019) set free a turtle after it was found at the beach of Crow Island entangled in a fishing net.

Having found a turtle that was washed ashore entangled in fishing net, a group of naval personnel attached to the Western Naval Command has promptly set free the poor sea creature in struggle. The animal that sustained injuries due to its struggle for life was handed over to the officials of the Department of Wildlife for treatment.

Worldwide, six of the seven sea turtle species are classified as threatened or endangered due to human actions and five of them are found in waters around Sri Lanka. Under the visionary concept – ‘Neela Haritha Sangramaya’ of Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Piyal De Silva, naval personnel are engaged in turtle conservation as well.

The Sri Lanka Navy has also launched a turtle conservation project to augment this praiseworthy initiative. Accordingly, over 7000 baby turtles have been successfully released to their natural habitat, right form the hatcheries maintained by the Navy.

Further, the Navy throws its full weight behind for the conservation of wide ranging ocean resources, through its direct involvement and dedicated missions.