IMIS - Marine Onderzoeksgroepen

The purpose of this project is to assess the success of marine turtles once released back into to the marine environment after undergoing lengthy rehabilitation programs. Many of these turtles have been in rehabilitation for over 19 months previously found in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef suffering from floaters disease or suffering horrendous injuries from entanglement in discarded 'ghost nets' that were found by Napranum shire council rangers at Pennefather Beach, Cape York Penninsula. Previously when the turtles were released their fate was unknown, now with the assistance of satellite tracking invaluable data can be retrieved regarding the success of the rehabilitation. This is a collaborative project between James Cook University Cairns, Cairns turtle rehabilitation centre and Ian Bell at DERM. Project sponsors:

• Marlin Coast Veterinary Clinic: donate all veterinary services for free.
• Qantas-link: donate free flights for both the turtles to fly down from Cape York to Cairns turtle rehabilitation centre and Marlin coast vet clinic and for myself to collect them.
• Qantas-Link: donate the flights to return the turtles back to Cape York when recovered.
• Great adventures reef cruises: donate free trips to Green island for turtle releases for the turtles and the volunteers at the rehabilitation centre.
• Sunlover cruises: donate trips to the reef for research and Fitzroy Island for releases.