Tour company rescues injured turtle

An injured sea turtle was flown by Aloha Airlines Cargo to O‘ahu for treatment of its wounds Tuesday.The turtle, estimated to be around 25 to 30 years old by the state's District Fisheries biologist Don Heacock, was discovered by an operator aboard Bali Hai Tours Tuesday morning near the Double Caves at Kalala‘u, said Mike Sheehan of Hanalei. Sheehan transported the injured turtle to the Aloha Airlines cargo terminal in Lihu‘e where they were met by Heacock.

"They saw some bubbles in the water and after diving to investigate, discovered the turtle which had sustained propeller strikes," Sheehan said. "They brought it back to Hanalei and washed out the wound with sea water before transporting."Heacock said the turtle sustained perforations in her right lung, her lower intestines are showing and there are indications of five or six propeller strikes on her shell. He called in that assessment to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries office.

"Luckily, the propeller missed the turtle's spine (and) head," Heacock said. "The turtle is a healthy female and other than signs of a previous encounter with a shark, is fine."He said the turtle will be flown to O‘ahu and the care of George Balazs, the NOAA Fisheries Sea Turtle Research lead.Heacock explained that the use of fiberglass and pins are similar to human surgeries and are used to help the area heal from its injuries.