Rehabilitation barge off Tunisia lends hope to sea turtles

The barge, used to treat injured loggerhead turtles, is the first floating rehabilitation centre for the species in the Mediterranean

On a barge hundreds of metres off the Kerkennah Islands in southern Tunisia, a group of students watches intently as Besma, a recovering sea turtle, shuffles towards the water and dives in.

The barge, used to treat injured loggerhead turtles, is the first floating rehabilitation centre for the species in the Mediterranean, its organisers say.

Harbouring netted enclosures underwater, it allows the threatened species to receive care in saltwater, its natural habitat.

“It is important that the sea turtles recover in their natural environment,” said Hamed Mallat, a marine biologist who heads the UN-funded project.

“We place them in a space that’s large enough for them to move and feed more comfortably,” he added.

Mr. Mallat, a member of the local Kraten Association for Sustainable Development and the International Sea Turtle Society, founded the project last month and said the rehab barge was refashioned from a sunken aquaculture cage.

The loggerhead sea turtle, also known as Caretta caretta, is considered a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Every year, around 10,000 loggerheads are caught by trawlers and in fishing nets in the waters off Tunisia.

Life Medturtles, an EU-funded sea life conservation project, estimates that more than 70% of sea turtle deaths in the Mediterranean are caused by gillnets — large nets used for mass fishing.

Published - January 13, 2025 10:01 am IST