Journal of the twentysixth day on board

28th May, 1999

Time: 16,30 As long as the pasturing carries on, we keep scanning the sea with binoculars. This is Mission Sharks, you never know!

"Let's go and see what it is that thing on the surface" We attach the outboard to the dinghy and slowly approach the object which is floating in the distance. We are careful to maintain a steady speed: many animals only draw near like that.
"It’s a piece of wood". In that moment the piece of wood dives and disappears."Stop the motor, its a turtle".

I slip queitly into the water and swim slowly, the typical approach of a predator towards a prey, the difference being that my prey will only be filmed and not get its fingers burnt.

I get as close as a couple of metres and witness a strange scene:
the turtle is coughing.
It tries to dive but doesn't manage it. It looks at me. I look closer, I see a fishing line dangling from one side and understand it is another
victim of long line fishing. This vicious instrument of death has struck again.

I find it difficult to imagine a type of fishing which leaves in the sea thousands of hooks hanging from tens of thousands of long lines.
just as I'm sure you would find it difficult to imagine the type of hunting which fills a forest with traps.

Anyway enough of that. People speak little about fishing and few know of the disasters we are causing at sea.

Now I swim quickly, the turtle likewise, then unexpectedly Claudietta (I will call her this from now on) stops, opens her mouth and twists her neck. The pain is self evident, the hook wounded her in the throat.
With a spurt I grab her and pull her into the dinghy.

I go flat out towards the Alicudi to look to remove the hook. I call on the radio to forewarn the the biologist Angelo Mojetta that we are coming with a wounded turtle. Unfotunately it is impossible to remove the hook which, however, is no longer in her throat, but has dug into her oesophagus.

It needs the intervention of a vet: we try the telephone and,
thanks to the help of the Captain of the Port of Reggio Calabria, late at night we offload Claudietta on a patrol vessel to seek treatment in the city.

Ciao Claudietta, see you soon.