Final Press Release
"P A O L A"
The story of "Paola" begins with an injured sea
turtle caught on the longline of an Italian fishing boat, and carried
to shore, her fate uncertain and her life hanging by a thread. Was it
the cooking pot or just a plain brutal death that awaited her?
But fate, an often fickle force, that day still had some tricks to play.
Enter the young daughter of an Italian restaurant owner, who having
seen a TV programme about turtle conservation and the work of the Naples
Institute for Zoological Research, and seeing the turtle, ran to beg
her father to help her rescue it and take it to the Research Centre.
Fate again smiled on the turtle and the mission in the dead of night
was successful.
At the centre, under the care of Dr. Flegra Bentivegna, the curator,
the turtle was nursed back to health, an operation was performed to
remove a fish hook embedded in her throat, and a number of other fish
hooks were excreted from her digestive tract. In honour of the 15 year
old girl, the turtle was nicknamed "Paola", and five months later was
pronounced fit and well, and ready to be returned to her natural habitat,
the sea.
One of the projects of the research centre, was the monitoring by satellite
of sea turtle movements around the Mediterranean. Could "Paola" be used
in the project? She was 87 cms long and weighed 50 kilos, so the transmitter
would be no problem to her. Where could she be released from? MEDASSET,
the Greek based Mediterranean Association to save the Sea Turtles, suggested
Kefalonia, an Island off the west coast of Greece where many sea turtles
come to lay their eggs in the summer, offered to organise her release,
and to provide the necessary oceanographic information for the area
to enable her to be tracked. This would avoid the area off Italy where
fishermen still use illegal drift nets, and turtles are still illegally
kept for the pot.
Unfortunately, the only transmitter the research centre had malfunctioned
during testing, so money had to be found, and the release delayed while
a new transmitter was obtained from the US. Finally "Paola" was fitted
with her burden; the 12cm protective case with its 15cm aerial was attached
to her back with glass fibre and silicone. Arrangements were made to
track her using the satellite facilities of the US Government, National
Organisation for Ocean and Atmosphere Administration, NOAA, and the
location tracking services of Argos CLS processing centre in France.
Tickets were booked for "Paola", together with a TV crew from RAI TV,
to take a ferry ride from Naples to Sami, Kefalonia. There she was to
be released in the presence of dignitaries of the island and representatives
in Greece of the Italian Government, as well as a large crowd of local
inhabitants. While the RAI crew shot events on the surface, divers from
the Greek underwater activities club took videos and photos from below
the sea. "Paola" was given a royal send-off.
For the next few weeks "Paola" meandered her way southeast down the
Peloponnese coast of Greece, we only knew where she was, what adventures
she may be having or what she was doing was a matter for speculation.
Then, disaster happened! Download from the satellite revealed that "Paola"
had ceased transmitting on the 25th May, just off Cape Tenaro, at the
end of the Marni Peninsula the middle one of the three promontories
of the South Peloponnese coast. The minds of all involved went into
overdrive. Had she again been caught by fishermen, had she been hit
by the propeller of a boat, had there been freak weather conditions
that broke the satellite link, had she met an amorous male turtle who
during mating had damaged the transmitter aerial, had the transmitter
broken down? No one but "Paola" knew. Had this very expensive project
ended so quickly and so abruptly?
At MEDASSET in Athens, through all the speculation, things went into
overdrive. Press releases were issued; the Hellenic Ministry of Merchant
Marine alerted port authorities all over Greece as well as vessels sailing
in Greek waters. Antenna TV broke the story on their news bulletin,
and replayed the video of her release. "Where was Paola?". In the office
of MEDASSET the phones started ringing.
Nineteen calls reported sightings of turtles within the previous 10
days, in the Peloponnese area alone, most alleged to have been killed
by fishermen or hit by boats. Incredibly as it turned out, the first
call received was from a man who informed us of a fisherman from Lavrio
on a trip in the Aegean Sea, where, off the island of Kea, 190 Kms.
from "Paola's" last known position a turtle with a transmitter had been
caught in the nets and released. Too far away, was the thought, but
nothing was taken for granted as all the reports were investigated,
questions asked, leads followed. Was it the truth? After all, a full
description of "Paola" had been widely circulated.
Meanwhile, "Paola" was becoming a celebrity, the newspapers, TV and
radio carried update reports. She became the butt of comedians and satirical
shows on TV, and in the theatre, conservation was having a field day.
At last contact was made with the fisherman from Lavrio. "Yes" he said,
"A turtle did get caught in my net as I was fishing in shallow water
off Koundouros, Kea. I took it to the beach, cut my net to free it.
It had a transmitter on its back, I thought it must be important, it
was fit and healthy, and rushed down the beach back into the water."
The description of the tags seemed to match, the size was right, but
was it "Paola"? Although "Paola was only the third such turtle released
in the Mediterranean, and the second in Greek waters, there was still
an element of doubt. Was it "Gaeta", who had been released in Italy
and who had ceased transmission some time previously?
We didn't have long to wait for our answer. The next download from the
satellite revealed that "Paola" had resumed transmission, from precisely
the place the fisherman released her. All of a sudden a throwaway comment
by the fisherman fell into place. "There was a sheet of plastic entangled
around the aerial, which I cleared away." It seems that the fates had
again worked for "Paola", taking her, when in trouble, to the nets of
a friendly and humane fisherman.
While "Paola" continues steadily eastward, broadcasting her signal of
thanks, perhaps it's time to wonder. Is she maybe a descendant of the
turtles who guided the ancient Greek sailors around the Mediterranean?
Do the ancient Gods still watch over her?
LATE BREAKING NEWS!
- The final transmission from "Paola" was in
August 1997 indicating that she was safely swimming between the island
of Lesbos (Greek-Aegean waters) and Dikili (mainland Turkey). The monitoring
period has now expired.
- "Paola" featured at the "It's About Time" exhibition on GPS and atomic
clocks, at the Science Museum in London, on December 1999.
Further resources:
Status
of the Sea Turtles in the Gulf of Naples and preliminary study of Migration
Press
Release No.2 16/04/97
Brief
notes on migration in Sea Turtles
Brief
notes on satellite tracking methods
The
"Paola" project
