How to help our turtles

Our turtles?

Yes, marine turtles are regularly seen in Cornish waters. The first step we can take towards conserving these globally endangered creatures is to recognise that they are part of Cornwall's wildlife.

The leatherback - which grows to over two metres in length - is the typical Cornish turtle. Leatherbacks travel thousands of miles from their tropical breeding areas to feed in colder seas and Cornwall is well within their natural range. Occasional visitors are the loggerhead and, more rarely, the Kemp's ridley. Two particular dangers facing them in the South-West are entanglement in fishing gear and blockage of the gut by floating rubbish which they mistake for food.

Reports

We need much more information on our turtles. Please give full details of any you see to the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, including location, size, colour, date and time. Try to identify them using the descriptions here. Old records are just as welcome, and dead turtles can be extremely valuable to conservationists in their research - particularly if we can collect them while still fresh.

Rescues

If you are in a position to rescue an entangled turtle, the main thing to remember is that they need to breathe air. When they are distressed, they cannot remain submerged for as long as they do normally. Keep the animal's head above water, and release it at sea. A beached turtle can be dragged carefully (by its shell) to the water if uninjured - otherwise you should call a vet (and the Trust). Pour on sea water to lubricate its eyes, and never put a turtle on its back.

" Turtle-awareness"

We can all do something to help turtles if we think about the problems they face. For a start, we can take our plastic and other non-biodegradable rubbish home rather than leaving it on the beach or in the sea - and why not fill a bag with other people's rubbish at the same time?! A letter to your MP asking him or her to promote more wildlife-friendly fishing methods is another approach. Think about turtles when you take foreign holidays as well: many beaches on Cyprus and other Mediterranean islands, for instance, are used by turtles for nesting; if you patronise hotels or time-shares built too close to those beaches, you will add to the disturbance they suffer.

Follow the Turtle Code

The Cornwall Wildlife Trust has prepared a Cornish Turtle Code, for users and watchers of the sea, which gives more detailed advice. Call Seaquest South-West for your free copy.