Officers at the Marine and Coastal Resources Research Center (Upper Andaman Sea) were notified by hotel staff at Phuket Marriott Resort & Spa, Merlin Beach yesterday (June 11) that a live sea turtle had been found stranded on the beach.
The turtle was tangled with a pile of discarded fishing net.
The marine officers arrived and confirmed that the turtle was a hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) with a shell 28cm long and 25.5cm wide. The turtle weighed just 1.9kg. Full grown adult hawksbill turtles grow to more than a metre long and weigh on average more than 80kg.
The officers were unable to determine the gender of the turtle. However, they did confirm that it was in weak physical condition and had a wound to its front-right flipper
The flipper had become tangled with rope from the fishing net, causing a serious injury that left the bone broken and necrosis occurring around the flipper.
The turtle was taken back to the Marine and Coastal Resources Research Center at Cape Panwa, where it underwent surgery and remains in care.