NGO releases rare sea turtle into South China Sea
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E-mail Xinhua, March 27, 2012
Sea Turtles 911, an international non-profit organization dedicated to sea turtle conservation, released an endangered Green Sea Turtle into the sea off China's southernmost island province of Hainan.
With help from some Chinese soldiers, the NGO on Monday released a 110-kg female Green Sea Turtle off the coast of Lingshui county, an official with Hainan Airlines Group, a partner of the NGO, told Xinhua on Tuesday.
The rare turtle named "Star Blue" had been caught in a fishing net before being rescued by local fishermen on March 4, said the official.
Star Blue was in a coma when it was found. The turtle emerged from the coma after receiving aid from Sea Turtles 911. The turtle then underwent days of rehabilitation before it was ready to go back to the ocean.
The NGO put a GPS tracking device on Star Blue in order to learn where the turtle was from as well as where it feeds and lays eggs.
Hainan Airlines Group, the parent of Hainan Airlines, the country's fourth-largest carrier, sponsors tracking devices for Sea Turtles 911.
Sea Turtles 911 was formed in 2008 in Hawaii, the United States, but operates in Hainan. The NGO focuses on the coastal regions of Hainan, home to the critically endangered Hawksbill Sea Turtle and the endangered Green Sea Turtle.
