Home to countless sea creatures, the ocean is a vast expanse that humans have traversed for the longest time. However, not many may do so responsibly, resulting in the loss of innocent marine life.
Just recently, a sea turtle was found dead near Pulau Hantu, apparently tangled in an abandoned gill net which caused it to drown.
In the wake of the discovery, authorities and enthusiasts banded together to retrieve the net from the open sea and dispose of it, preventing such incidents from occurring again.
On Friday (21 May), Our Singapore Reefs shared a Facebook post detailing the mission that involved multiple parties.
In a combined effort, folks from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), Singapore Marine Guide and SSE Marine, managed to locate the 100m long gill net that the turtle was trapped in.
Floating 15 metres beneath the surface, the net wasn’t easy to spot. Thankfully, divers and boat crew were able to remove it after a 3-hour operation.
During the recovery of the net, the crew ended up pulling out other marine animals too, which they later released back into the ocean.
According to Our Singapore Reefs, gill nets and other discarded fishing gear can entangle and trap marine creatures.
Gill nets, especially, are dangerous as they appear ‘invisible’ underwater, which may lead animals to swim right into them. The Hantu Bloggers go as far as to say that these nets are “a major source of mortality for all sea turtle species”.
Considering the risks, the removal mission was thus a very crucial one. Transport Minister S Iswaran even praised the various parties for their successful collaboration.
We applaud all who were involved for a successful operation, preventing more unnecessary harm to sea creatures.
If there’s anything this incident teaches us, it’s to be more responsible in caring for the environment and vulnerable animals.
Hopefully, no such tragedies will occur again and all animals will be able to live in peace.
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Featured image adapted from Facebook and Facebook.
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