Rare turtles washed up in Cornwall returned by Royal Navy

The juvenile turtles were all given names, with some named after the beaches they were found on.

Jason and Perran were discovered at Perranporth, Gordon was discovered at Bude, Hayle was found in Hayle, Holly on Putsborough Beach, Devon and Tonni was rescued at Moel-y-Don Beach, Anglesey.

One of the six turtles enjoys the fresh Azores air after being released from its crate (Image: Royal Navy) Now, thanks to the Royal Navy, the rare turtles have been returned home to their original Atlantic habitat, in the warm waters off the Azores. 

After rehabilitation from Newquay’s Blue Reef Aquarium and Anglesey Sea Zoo, the crew of HMS Medway released the vulnerable creatures off in the Azores as the patrol ship headed towards the Caribbean.

Medway sailed from Plymouth last week to relieve her sister ship HMS Trent, supporting international counter-drug smuggling operations across the Americas, and assisting island communities should they be ravaged by storms during the hurricane season.

Alongside her regular cargo of food supplies, spare parts for machinery, and disaster relief/aid kits, Medway, the Portsmouth-based ship also loaded all six Loggerhead Turtles.

Members of the Royal Navy and Newquay Blue Reef Aquarium (Image: Royal Navy)

With the creatures now sufficiently developed, the time had come to ‘repatriate’ them – but they had to be returned to their warm, native waters – which meant a delicate mission.

The turtles were gently dropped into the Atlantic off the Azores, swimming past Medway’s crew who had gathered on the flight deck to watch the repatriation.

“As professional mariners, many of us are keen to do what we can to reduce the loss of biodiversity at sea,” said Rod Jones, the Royal Navy’s senior maritime environmental protection advisor.

“Encountering marine wildlife is one of the great joys of seafaring and if we can assist, even in a small way, to make it more likely in the future, we are pleased to be able to do that.”

Mr Jones continued: “Assisting turtles to return to warmer waters may not be the Royal Navy’s primary role, but as a government body we are very pleased to be able to support the UK’s ambition for more healthy and diverse seas.”

One of the Loggerhead Turtles returned to the ocean (Image: Royal Navy) Steve Matchett, group curator for Blue Reef Aquarium spoke of the five turtles discovered in Cornwall and Devon when they arrived at Newquay’s Blue Reef Aquarium.

“All the turtles arrived in a weakened state – in many cases we were unsure if they were going to make it overnight.

“All were dehydrated and emaciated. This is due to being too cold for a long period and being unable to feed/function properly. They have all prospered once we got them past the initial stages.

“We are very grateful to the Navy for stepping in to repatriate these rescued turtles.”

The sixth turtle, Tonni was cared for at Anglesey Sea Zoo.

The Blue Reef team showed the sailors from HMS Medway how to look after the turtles while aboard the warship.

More pictures of the washed-up turtles being released by the Royal Navy can be found in the picture gallery at the top of this article.