Turtle found speared twice off Green Island

An adult green turtle faces up to 12 months of recovery after she was found speared off the coast of Green Island. Warning: Distressing content

An adult green turtle faces a 12 month recovery after she was found speared by hunters off the coast of Green Island.

After stepping off a plane from Melbourne, Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre co-founder Jennie Gilbert responded to a call that a turtle had been found struggling at Green Island.

“She had a spear hanging out of her which punctured two holes in her lung. The poor thing must’ve been in so much pain,” Ms Gilbert said.

The female turtle, tentatively nicknamed Shelly, was rescued by staff from tourism operator Great Adventures and taken to Marineland Green Island, until she was able to be transported to Northern Beaches Vet Clinic.

“Illegal hunting is a prevalent problem,” Ms Gilbert said.

“We’ve had a few turtles with spear wounds come in.

'Shelly' is facing more than 12 months of recovery after she was speared by illegal hunters at Green Island. Picture: Jennie Gilbert.

“Luckily this turtle was found quickly and brought in for a three hour operation on Saturday. It was amazing to get the spear out because it punctured her shell and lung.”

While the surgery was successful, Ms Gilbert said Shelly faced a long recovery process before she could be released back into the wild.

“She was pretty feisty earlier so we’ve had to put some towels over her to keep her quiet so she doesn’t move around much but rehabilitation could be up to 12 months or over because we have to make sure she’s healthy,” Ms Gilbert said.

Ms Gilbert says she hoped more can be done to stop illegal hunting around Green Island.

“You don’t want to release a turtle with wounds because then they can get infections. The main thing is to have her healed before releasing her to the wild so she can have the best chance of survival,” she said.

“For now, it’s a matter of after-care and keeping her fluids up and giving her pain killers. She was very lucky to have been found so quickly and she’s a big, fat, healthy turtle so that gives her a better chance at recovery.”

Staff from Great Adventures found a large, 39 kilogram green turtle which had been speared twice floating off Green Island on Friday. The turtle was transported to Northern Beaches veterinary clinic, where she had surgery on Saturday to have the spear tip removed. Picture: Brendan Radke

Turtles can be hunted by Aboriginal traditional owners in accordance to cultural practices under the Native Title Act 1993, including in Green Island’s “no take” or ‘green zone.”

The designated traditional owners for Green Island are the Gunggandji, based at Yarrabah, and it is understood they have agreed to not hunt around the island, however it was reported in November 2017, other Indigenous tribes had undertaken hunting around the island.

Ms Gilbert said she hoped more could be done to stop illegal hunting around Green Island.

“I think there’s got to be more policing of it or more fines for illegal hunting, maybe more legislation around it. This cruelty has to stop,” she said.

“We can get up to probably up to one or two turtles a year that are found and reported. There’s a lot more out there that aren’t found and there’s a lot that obviously a lot that die and we don’t see them because they’re not reported.”

Staff from Great Adventures found a large, 39 kilogram green turtle which had been speared twice floating off Green Island on Friday. The turtle was transported to Northern Beaches veterinary clinic, where she had surgery on Saturday to have the spear tip removed. Turtle Rehabilitation Centre owner Jennie Gilbert helped veterinary surgeon Michelle Trevan and her team with the surgery, and is angered that illegal hunting practices continue to occur on the Great Barrier Reef. Picture: Brendan Radke

To report an animal in distress, call the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service on 1300 130 372.

According to the Department of Environment and Science, unlawfully killing, harming or taking a protected marine turtle, such as a green turtle, which is listed as a vulnerable species, attracts a maximum penalty of $34,830 under the Nature Conservation Act 1992, if the matter proceeded to a Court hearing.

Originally published as Turtle found speared twice off Green Island