{"id":7472,"date":"2026-07-09T12:22:55","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T04:22:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/?p=7472"},"modified":"2026-07-09T12:22:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T04:22:56","slug":"21-rescued-green-sea-turtles-return-to-balis-waters-after-surviving-illegal-wildlife-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/21-rescued-green-sea-turtles-return-to-balis-waters-after-surviving-illegal-wildlife-trade\/","title":{"rendered":"21 Rescued Green Sea Turtles Return to Bali’s Waters After Surviving Illegal Wildlife Trade"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The rescued turtles spent a month recovering from injuries before being released into the protected waters of Serangan, highlighting Bali’s ongoing fight against wildlife trafficking.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DENPASAR, Bali<\/strong> \u2013 Twenty-one endangered green sea turtles have been returned to the ocean after surviving an illegal wildlife trafficking operation, offering a rare conservation success in Bali’s continuing battle against the black market trade in protected marine animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The turtles, all Green Sea Turtles (Chelonia mydas<\/em>)<\/strong>, were released Tuesday at Serangan Beach<\/strong> within Bali’s Kura Kura Special Economic Zone (KEK)<\/strong> after completing nearly a month of rehabilitation following their rescue by Bali Police’s Marine and Air Unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For conservationists, the release represented more than the return of rescued animals to the sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was another reminder that despite Bali’s international reputation as a tropical paradise, illegal wildlife trafficking remains an ongoing threat to some of Indonesia’s most iconic marine species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The location was carefully selected with animal welfare in mind,” said Getreda Melsina Hehanussa<\/strong>, Head of the Denpasar Marine Management Office under Indonesia’s Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Transporting the turtles over long distances could have placed additional stress on their health, so we chose a release site close to the rehabilitation centre.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The turtles had been rescued in the coastal waters of Gerokgak<\/strong>, in Bali’s northern Buleleng Regency<\/strong>, before being transferred to the Turtle Conservation and Education Center (TCEC)<\/strong> in Serangan on June 11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to I Wayan Indra Lesmana<\/strong>, Chairman of the Turtle Conservation and Education Center, turtles rescued from illegal trade often arrive with severe injuries caused by the methods used by traffickers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many have holes or deep wounds in their front flippers after being tied with ropes during capture and transport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We provide intensive treatment until their wounds heal completely,” Lesmana said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Only after our veterinarians confirm that they have recovered, are free from dehydration, and are physically fit do we release them back into the wild.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wildlife authorities say protecting rescued turtles does not end with rehabilitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Selecting a safe release location is equally important to reduce the risk of the animals being captured again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to AKBP Nanang Pri Hasmoko<\/strong>, Head of Law Enforcement at Bali Police’s Marine and Air Unit, Serangan Beach was chosen because of its protected coastal environment and regular security patrols.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This area is one of Bali’s important turtle nesting habitats,” Nanang said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It is also well protected, reducing the risk of irresponsible individuals attempting to capture the turtles again after their release.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police say they continue to intensify operations against turtle smuggling networks operating around Bali’s coastline, where green sea turtles remain a target of illegal wildlife trade despite decades of conservation efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under Indonesian law, Green Sea Turtles are a protected species<\/strong>, and capturing, transporting or trading them is illegal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many visitors, spotting a sea turtle while diving or snorkelling is one of Bali’s most memorable wildlife experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conservationists say each successful rescue helps protect not only an endangered species but also the fragile marine ecosystems that support Bali’s biodiversity and sustainable tourism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuesday’s release was therefore more than a symbolic moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It marked another small victory in the effort to ensure that Bali’s sea turtles remain where they belong \u2014 in the ocean, not in the illegal wildlife trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#balinews<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The rescued turtles spent a month recovering from injuries before being released into the protected waters of Serangan, highlighting Bali’s ongoing fight against wildlife trafficking. DENPASAR, Bali \u2013 Twenty-one endangered green sea turtles have been returned to the ocean after surviving an illegal wildlife trafficking operation, offering a rare conservation success in Bali’s continuing battle […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7473,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard"},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_override_bookmark_settings":[],"jnews_food_recipe":[],"enable_food_recipe":"","food_recipe_title":"","food_recipe_description":"","food_recipe_serve":"","food_recipe_time":"","food_recipe_prep":"","food_recipe_level":"","food_recipe_keywords":"","food_recipe_category":"","food_recipe_cuisine":"","food_recipe_yield":"","food_recipe_calories":"","enable_print_recipe":"","ingredient":[],"instruction":"","jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_review":[],"enable_review":"","type":"","name":"","summary":"","brand":"","sku":"","good":[],"bad":[],"score_override":"","override_value":"","rating":[],"price":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"jnews_post_split":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,51],"tags":[246,47,247,106,146,54,1003],"class_list":["post-7472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bali-news","category-bali-update","tag-animal","tag-bali","tag-bali-animal","tag-bali-expat","tag-bali-life","tag-news","tag-sea-turtle"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7472"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7472\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7474,"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7472\/revisions\/7474"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/heybali.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}