Two juvenile loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta, named Xianna and Xaloc, have been returned to the ocean after undergoing treatment and rehabilitation at the Zoomarine Algarve’s Porto d’Abrigo rehabilitation centre.
The release, carried out yesterday, 3 September, was supported by the Portuguese Navy. Before being returned to the sea, both turtles were fitted with microchips and satellite transmitters, allowing researchers to track their movements and study their migration routes.
The two turtles arrived at the rehabilitation centre during the summer following separate rescues off the Algarve coast. Xianna was admitted to the Porto d’Abrigo on 16 June after being found weak and floating off the coast of Portimão. She was spotted by Capitão Nemo, a maritime tourism vessel, whose crew alerted the rehabilitation centre.
When she arrived, Xianna weighed 6.5kg and measured 33.8cm. A clinical examination revealed plastic in her digestive tract.
Xaloc arrived at Porto d’Abrigo on 13 July after being accidentally caught in a fishing net. The turtle was not initially spotted and was transported in a fishing container, alongside sardines and ice, from Quarteira to Olhão.
Around two hours later, while the catch was being unloaded at a warehouse, Xaloc was discovered as the sardines were being removed for packaging. The team at Peixe Azul then contacted Porto d’Abrigo.
Xaloc weighed 7.4kg and measured 36.3cm. She was suffering from gastrointestinal problems, mild dehydration, and a lack of appetite during the first few days of her rehabilitation.
Both Xianna and Xaloc underwent general health assessments, X-rays, blood tests and biometric examinations. Xaloc also received an ultrasound scan and intravenous fluid therapy.
“Every animal we manage to return to the ocean represents the ultimate goal of the work carried out by the Porto d’Abrigo,” said Antonieta Nunes, the veterinary nurse responsible for the centre.
“Xianna and Xaloc came to us in very different circumstances, but their stories illustrate some of the challenges sea turtles face in their natural habitat,” she added.
Before their release, microchips were implanted in the front flippers of both turtles. The satellite transmitters fitted to the animals will also allow researchers to monitor their movements, and gather information about their migration routes.
Porto d’Abrigo was established in 2002, and, according to Zoomarine, hundreds of marine and aquatic animals have since been rehabilitated at the centre and returned to their natural habitats.
However, Zoomarine's conservation and rehabilitation work has existed alongside a long-running public debate over its use of captive dolphins for entertainment.
The Algarve park has faced criticism from animal welfare organisations for decades, particularly over its dolphin shows, and controversial visitor-interaction programmes. The dispute has centred on whether these wild animals should be kept in small enclosures, and forcibly trained to perform for audiences of gleeful tourists. Similar debates have accompanied traditional bull-fighting and bull-chase events in the Algarve, which have rapidly fallen out of vogue in recent years, existing in a limited capacity in some parts of Portugal, namely the Central regions.
One of the most prominent controversies came in 2015, when the Portuguese reality television programme Dolphins with the Stars, due to be filmed at Zoomarine, was suspended. Portugal’s Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF) issued an unfavourable opinion on the programme, while the Directorate-General for Food and Veterinary Affairs also issued a negative preliminary opinion.
Controversy resurfaced more strongly in 2019, when World Animal Protection and the Change for Animals Foundation included Zoomarine in a report examining the use of wild animals for entertainment. The organisations accused the park of using dolphins in choreographed performances and close-contact experiences, including activities in which trainers rode on the animals. They argued that captivity and repeated performances could compromise the animals’ welfare, preventing them from behaving naturally.
The report provoked backlash from Zoomarine’s spokespeople, who rejected the allegations as “grave and unfounded” and said the organisations had failed to provide a credible scientific or veterinary basis for their conclusions.
In August 2021, animal welfare groups held a demonstration outside the park, calling for an end to the use of dolphins and other animals in their popular shows. Zoomarine has, in turn, sought to emphasise its conservation work, particularly through the Porto d’Abrigo rehabilitation centre. Articles celebrating the centre’s achievements are plentiful, and the rehabilitation work itself is of course deserving of praise. However, the question remains: when will the Algarve seriously confront its acceptance of these dolphin shows, in the way it did with those exploiting the dolphin’s horned mammalian distant cousin, the bull.
Source: Marinha / Zoomarine
Photo credit: Marinha
