Sea Shepherd saves endangered turtle on final Jairo patrol

Sea Shepherd saves endangered turtle on final Jairo patrol © Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

On July 31st, the crew of Sea Shepherd's The MV Brigitte Bardot, together with researchers from the Antigua Sea Turtle Project (ASTP), rescued an endangered sea turtle on the beaches of Barbuda during Operation Jairo Caribbean.

The turtle, a critically endangered hawksbill, had come ashore to nest and became trapped under a rocky ledge. Unable to free herself, she could not return to the ocean.

The rescue of this turtle marked the end of a successful one-month campaign in which over 60 nests were documented, and 12 turtles were tagged to be continually monitored by scientists. The rescue, which happened on the last day of the campaign, came with one additional surprise:

The turtle that was saved was the same turtle first encountered by the crew when the campaign began several weeks ago. She was the very first turtle to be monitored and tagged by researchers this season.