On Serangan, 20 green turtles (Chelonia mydas) that the Bali water police found in an abandoned boat have been released into the ocean.
They were let go from the beach of the Kura Kura Bali special economic zone.
On Saturday, people on the Serangan coast reported a suspicious vessel to a patrol. There was no crew aboard the blue “Monster”, but 22 turtles were inside.
According to investigators, the person transporting them fled ashore when the police approached. He has not yet been identified, and the search is ongoing. Under the nature conservation law, trading in protected species carries a penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to IDR 100 million.
The turtles were taken to the TCEC (Turtle Conservation and Education Center) on the same island. There they were examined by vets and by veterinary students from Udayana University’s Turtle Guard group.
Twenty were found to be healthy. Two remain under treatment: one has a prolapsed rectum and the other has a tumor on its eye. They may be released later, once they recover.
Photo: ANTARA, Bali Post
The police and the zone’s management company say they chose the site because the shore there is clean and free of pollution.
Green turtles are fully protected in Indonesia: it is illegal to keep or sell them. They are also listed in the first appendix of CITES, the international convention on trade in wild fauna and flora, which covers species threatened with extinction.
In June, police stopped a shipment of 21 green turtles in northern Bali and arrested a 67-year-old local man.
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