On the 20th July, the turtle SALINA returned to the sea after 13 months of stay in Porto d’Abrigo do Zoomarine. Only 07 days later, he has already swam 292 kilometres, which means that he is already 239 kilometres from the place where he was returned to the ocean (12 nautical miles, or about 22 kilometres, south of Faro), in a traditional cooperation between Zoomarine and the Portuguese Navy.

This magnificent Salina course is available, online, to anyone who wishes to follow it (www.seaturtle.org/tracking/?tag_id=236274) and shows that, on average, this specimen of the species Caretta caretta is swimming around 42 kilometres a day. The signs seem to show periods of very active swimming, alternating with periods of rest and/or feeding.

Meanwhile, in the last two days, and contrary to past projects (03 turtles in the “Operation Postponed Return” of July 2009, and 01 turtle in the “Operation Great Return” of August 2019), Salina decided to cross the Strait of Gibraltar and enter the Mediterranean Sea. Such an incursion could be a mere chance or it could mean that this specimen belongs to a population in the region, so this route could be a “homecoming”.

The KiwiSat Argos equipment, which is expected to remain attached to its shell for about 2 years, continues to collect a lot of data and has a sensor that determines when it is at the surface – when it tries to locate satellites and download the data collected; so, and if all goes as planned, the device should have enough battery power for 13 to 15 months of activity, so it is hoped that the coming weeks will allow us to understand many more details of the path of this chelonian.

The risks to SALINA’s survival will continue to be daily – and forever; but they are part of an autonomous turtle’s life in seas so full of human activity. Our team will remain concerned – but confident!

Go Salina! May those flippers take you as far as you need to go and as your species needs to go. Although further and further away, we are still with you…