Rehabilitation at our two Facilities
The Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre (CTRC) treats injured and sick marine turtles brought in from the Great Barrier Reef and Cape York Peninsula. Personal commitments and donations from local businesses keep the centre running with more than 170 sick and injured animals brought in for treatment over the past 15 years. Founded in 2000 by Paul Barnes and Jennie Gilbert using their own resources.
The Marlin Coast Veterinary Clinic has supported the turtle rehabilitation centre by supplying medical services and the expertise required to treat the animals. CTRC cares for animals that have been brought in from an extensive region from Cape York at the tip of Far North Queensland all the way down to Townsville. These animals are often spotted by members of the public and picked up by dedicated Environmental Protection Agency Marine Park Rangers who are notified through the stranding hotline. The turtles are then passed onto the CTRC team for assessment and treatment.
The Marlin Coast Veterinary Clinic has supported the turtle rehabilitation centre by supplying medical services and the expertise required to treat the animals. CTRC cares for animals that have been brought in from an extensive region from Cape York at the tip of Far North Queensland all the way down to Townsville. These animals are often spotted by members of the public and picked up by dedicated Environmental Protection Agency Marine Park Rangers who are notified through the stranding hotline. The turtles are then passed onto the CTRC team for assessment and treatment.
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Animals are brought in suffering from disease and/or injuries caused by boats, discarded fishing gear or ingested plastic that is mistaken for food. Many of the turtles brought in from the Great Barrier Reef are suffering from 'floaters disease'. This disease causes air to be trapped between the shell and body impacting the animal’s ability to dive and feed itself. If left unaided the animal will eventually either starve to death or become easy prey for larger predators such as sharks or crocodiles. Turtles brought into the centre from the Cape York Peninsula region often suffer horrific injuries from entanglement in discarded fishing nets ‘Ghost Nets’. Many of these animals are in such bad condition they do not survive.
Based on figures since the centre first started over 15 years ago the success rate in rehabilitating sick and injured animals and returning them to the ocean has improved to ~85%, from 20-30%. New initiatives such as satellite tracking is now also providing evidence that even animals that have undergone long periods of rehabilitation are also doing well once released, and in some cases quiclky covering large distances.
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