Local Kingscliff fisherman and Red Hot Thai owner Brett Kook found a green turtle floating near five mile reef while fishing on Friday.
After noticing that it was not moving he retrieved it from the water and brought it back with him.
Calling Tim Jack Adams from Watersports Guru, Brett and his son Josh then brought the turtle into Kingscliff where it stayed in Tim’s bath tub until the Sea Bird Rescue crew arrived with Rochelle Ferris in charge.
“The green turtle we called Macs after the local conservation group will now be treated at the Ballina Turtle Hospital with a release date hopefully in late September,” Tim said, happy to have his bath back.
“The turtle that may have been an inhabitant of Cook Island is between 15 and 20 years of age and may be suffering from starvation due to indigestion of plastic bags.”
Tim, who founded conservation group MACS this year with Mick Manley and Tom Bowling, is hoping that the group’s new unofficial mascot will be healthy enough to be released back to Cook Island at the public launch of MACS in the Kingscliff Community Hall on the night of September 29.
If you haven’t heard of it yet, MACS (Marine Action Conservation Society) is a non-profit organization that is based locally representing the Tweed Shire community to promote important environmental initiatives. It takes into consideration the entire ‘Green Cauldron’ though its main focus is on the local lakes, rivers and creeks that run out into the ocean off the Tweed.
“Our slogan MACS C.A.R.E.S promotes (Conservation, Activism, Research, Education, Sustainability) our two main projects at this point are finding a viable substitute to eliminate non-biodegradable plastic bags from the Tweed shire and focusing on the repair and maintenance of the eroding riparian vegetation zones along our recreational waterways,” Tim said.
“Our emphasis to everyone is not to forget our local pride, help maintain the beautiful Tweed and those natural areas that we enjoy so we can have a green and clean shire.
“Tweed Shire Council has provided a parcel of land on the South side of Kingscliff bridge for us to utilize in the repairing and restoration of the creek bank. Kingscliff High School has put their hand up for students to partake in this project by eliminating weeds, replanting native saplings and to help repair the erosion on the creek banks.
“It’s a great initiative for school students not just to be able to enjoy these recreational areas but to be able to understand it’s ecology so they continue to respect and help sustain these beautiful natural environments for future generations.”
