Mobile Station Workshop
October 8, 2023
EUAC 2023 :: Thank you all for coming
October 22, 2023
They say “a picture is worth more than 1000 words” and that sentiment couldn’t feel more adequate while looking at our main photo.
In it you will see our friend Iona being gently introduced to the Azorean ocean with the assistance of our friends Todd from Sea Life Scarborough (left) and Robin from Sea Life Loch Lommond (right). Down the middle you’ll see Nikola, the 4 years old son of our founder, who was most eager to lend a helping hand and daddy pulled every string he could to ensure his youngling got a front row seat on this memorable occasion.
Remember that Iona, a Loggerhead Sea Turtle, Caretta caretta, was found on the island of Iona, in Scotland, in January 2022, seriously hypothermic and dehydrated. After a few months of tender-love-and-care from Sea Life Loch Lommond, it was transferred to Sea Life Scarborough for a few more months, before flying to Lisbon and then Horta on the 6th of September 2023. Originally caught with 2.5 kg, the scale from the Horta fishing-docks showed “21.5 kg” on the morning of Iona’s big oceanic adventure!
This was the happiest of moments to all, not to mention Iona herself! But, for Flying Sharks, with more than 40 Sea Turtle recoveries under our belt, this one came with a special flavor, since this was done immediately after we welcomed 170 aquarium professionals from the European Union of Aquarium Curators, with some intercontinental guests traveling all the way from Vladivostok (Russia), Marathon Key and Miami (USA), Istanbul (Turkey), and Balneário Camboriú (Brazil), to name a few.
Click below to see the newspieces published by the BBC and British printed press and we’d like to thank once again our friends from Sea Life Scarborough for inviting us to join them on this adventure. Thank you also to our friends from TAP Cargo, DGAV, Ezequiel Feliciano, Groundforce and JCS Livestock, who always bend over backwards to ensure that animal welfare is the absolute priority during these delicate transports.
Thank you also to Okeanos, and the University of the Azores, for providing support during Iona’s trip back to the ocean and for placing a tag on it, which ensured everyone of Iona’s natural behavior during its first few days in the big wide ocean. Interestingly, within minutes after its release, Iona was diving down to 60, sometimes 70 meters, then coming up to the surface again, which shows that nearly two years under human care did not erase her natural behavior.
We wish Iona a long and healthy life in the wide open ocean, and please stay clear of those nasty plastic bags! They are not jelly fish!
