Born from nothing. It was the bet of a young veterinarian and some volunteers who had long been committed to saving turtles that ended up in fishing nets or stranded dolphins: to create a specialized center for the care of marine animals. And the idea was immediately embraced by the Sinis Marine Protected Area - Mal di Ventre Island and by researchers from the CNR of Torregrande: thus the Sinis Recovery Center for turtles and marine mammals was born. Today the CReS is an international reality, between rescues of hundreds of turtles and field studies, it has developed protocols that are now followed throughout Europe. The last great victory took place a few days ago: the liberation of Genoveffa and Gavino, two specimens of Caretta caretta who for 25 years have always lived in captivity and for about ten days, after a difficult path of treatment and even judicial battles, they were able to go home to the blue sea of the Sinis.
The CReS
Established in 2000, the Center aims to plan and implement all the recovery and rescue activities of turtles and cetaceans to get to rehabilitation to end with their release "for conservation and scientific purposes, in compliance with current regional provisions , national and community ", let the Center know. The geographical area in which this army of rescuers moves goes from the coastal stretches between Tresnuraghes and Fluminimaggiore on the central-western coast, from Ororsei to Lanusei on the central- eastern coast of Sardinia, as defined in the agreement for the activation of a regional center for the conservation of marine fauna in difficulty (turtles and marine mammals).
In the recovery center, essential figures are the director of the marine protected area, the scientific director of the CNR and the health director who is the health director of the Duemari veterinary clinic in Oristano (the young veterinarian who immediately bet on the project). They are the ones who coordinate, each with their own specific skills, all the phases of the recovery of the various species. In twenty years, 350 injured animals (turtles and cetaceans) have been rescued due to longlines or fishing nets or animals that had ingested plastic. Microplastics have become the number one enemy of animals in particular in the last ten years.
In the activity of the CReS there are also 300 animals found dead, on which studies have been carried out to verify the causes and conditions that led to death.
The Liberty
The last great result of CReS was the release at sea of Genoveffa, Gavino, Elettra and Azzurra: the four specimens of Caretta caretta on 9 October were released in the waters of San Giovanni di Sinis (Cabras) after years of suffering. The release of the first two sea turtles was a historic moment: "An unprecedented event, unique in the world as there are no other releases of Caretta caretta specimens after many years of captivity - explained the director of the marine protected area Massimo Marras. - Only Jacques Cousteau did a similar experiment, with a green turtle that has always been in captivity. Studies at the time showed that the animal continued its life without difficulty. Turtles are known for their longevity, we believe it was a moral duty to have given them freedom ”. Now for at least a year the turtles will be monitored thanks to a satellite gps placed on the carapace: this will allow us to check the behavior of the animals and, in the event of anomalies or difficulties, locate them and intervene immediately. The monitoring is part of the broader protection project implemented thanks to the regional network for marine fauna (funded by the Ministry and the Region).
History
To accompany Genoveffa and Gavino until the last moment were the health manager Paolo Briguglio and his wife Monica Pais (of the Duemari veterinary clinic), among the main architects of Genoveffa's salvation and who, since they were young, had noticed the precarious conditions of the turtle in the Alghero aquarium. In those tanks the situation was not optimal: the environment lacked a thermoregulation system, there was even a lack of adequate water exchange. In 2010 the seizure took place, Genoveffa was transferred to the recovery center but the aquarium owner Sergio Caminiti challenged the provision and, after a few months of battle, the Court of Sassari agreed with him: the Caretta returned to Alghero. The mobilization was immediate, there was a social campaign, street demonstrations and in the end the case reached the Ministry. The inspectors of the State Forestry Corps were sent from Rome and Genoveffa was entrusted to the CReS where its gradual rebirth began.
With the legal matter closed, thanks to the intermediation work between the staff of the veterinary clinic and the Ministry of Ecological Transition, once the release measures and authorization for release have been acquired, today Genoveffa and Gavino are swimming free again in the sea. “The transmitters work and all four freed Carettas move well - let Paolo Briguglio and Monica Pais know - We were particularly anxious for the two Carettas detained for years in Alghero but they are moving as well as the two wild ones. Genoveffa and Gavino follow the same route: together also in the open sea ”.