Joshua Parfitt
A DEAD turtle has been found trapped inside a wooden pallet off the Costa Blanca.
The creature was discovered off the coast of Granadella beach, in Javea, by jetskiers on Friday morning, August 9.
The jetski group, from MAREMOTOsports on Javea’s Arenal, dived into the sea to rip the pallet apart – but the turtle was beyond rescue.
“The tour guide was crying as he tried to save the animal,” Oliver Bittner, who worked for 10 years at MAREMOTOsports, told the Olive Press.
“I’ve been patrolling these seas year after year, but this summer the seas around Javea are in the worst state I’ve ever seen.”
Bittner’s Facebook post of the picture received hundreds of comments and shares.
Bittner, 29, believed the pallet came from a ‘fishing boat’, but he said rubbish in the Mediterranean was becoming an increasing problem.
The now owner of Aloha Beach Javea rental company said he’s seen ‘paint buckets’ and ‘boots’ out at sea, and last year collected 6,000 cigarette butts from the Arenal alone.
He added the situation was dangerous for Javea seas, where ‘sharks’, ‘whales’ and ‘dolphins’ regularly pass by.
“I’ve never seen a dead turtle like that in 15 years of being in Javea,” Marcelo Tedesco, who also works at Aloha Beach Javea, told the Olive Press.
“This is just one dead turtle – but think of all the other animals who’ve died off Javea because of our waste.
“The problem is getting out of control and the saddest part is that this turtle was not to blame for any of it.”
