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Rare turtles spared in Albanian conservation plan
4th June 2003
Planet Ark
PATOK BEACH, Albania - Rare turtles that in the past would have been eaten or sold as exotic delicacies by impoverished fishermen were returning to the Adriatic Sea off Albania under an animal protection scheme.
They included a rare green turtle caught along with endangered loggerhead turtles in fishermen's nets, said Albanian zoologist professor Idriz Haxhiu, head of the natural science museum in Tirana.
The turtles have apparently moved well to the north of their normal Mediterranean habitats to feed on Adriatic crab whose numbers have increased with the changing climate.
Haxhiu said the young green turtle (scientific name Chelonia mydas) was the first such specimen he had seen in Adriatic waters in nearly 60 years. It was handed over by fishermen who are paid 20 euros ($24) per turtle to save the animals.
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