The green turtles (Chelonia mydas) were released into the sea as the culmination of a training course for the Association of Capital Market Academy Alumni, the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) announced on Facebook.
The class was led by Kiattichai Maitriwong, Director of the Greenhouse Gas Management Organization. The turtle release ceremony took place at Cape Panwa yesterday (Feb 3).
“Before being released back into the sea, each turtle got a microchip implanted to identify it in the event of a report of an encounter or laying eggs in the area in the future,” DMCR said.
The agency did not elaborate on when and where the stranded turtles were rescued or under what circumstances.
Several Chelonia mydas were recovered from Phuket beaches during the notorious oil slick incident in August 2023. Young turtles, found smothered with oil, were taken into care by the Sireetarn Marine Endangered Animal Rescue Centre between Aug 3-8.
The environmental disaster was not noticed by international media. Yet the oil slick affected some 125 kilometers of coastline along the Andaman seaboard, putting more than 4,000 rai of corals at risk of damage, according to the DMCR.
The oil was first observed washing ashore in Phang Nga on Aug 2 and reached Koh Racha Yai, just over 17km south of Phuket, on Aug 6. A model of the oil slick determined that the slick originated some 80 to 90 nautical miles west (more likely northwest) of Phuket.
“The information we have is consistent with the data of the Marine Department, which will proceed in its investigation and continue searching for the perpetrators in order to proceed with legal action,” DMCR Deputy Director-General Pornsri Suthanaruk said during her inspection of the beaches in Phang Nga and Phuket’s west coast.
No updates have followed so far.