Purser Elaine tells a turtle's tale:

‘Soren’ the Turtle

Released 27th of June in Haarmene Bay.
Species: Green Sea Turtle
Tag number: R27894

‘Soren’ the turtle was caught by fishermen off Taha’a, French Polynesia in June 2004. She was bought off the fishermen by the Hibiscus Foundation and brought to their sanctuary in the Hibiscus Hotel, in Haaemene Bay. Here, she was weighed and tagged and prepared for re-release. Following a visit to the sanctuary the voyage crew on V201 clubbed together and collected the US$100 to adopt ‘Soren’. On Sunday 27th June, myself, Sarah and Lydia ( my trusted interpreter) went ashore to sign the adoption book on behalf of the voyage crew. We then collected ‘Soren’, recorded her tag number and released her back into the wild to a rapturous applause and cheers from all onboard the ship. A little stunned on entry into the water Soren soon gathered her bearings and then she was off into the deep, back into the lagoon and off to freedom.

The foundation estimate that she was about 6 years old. She will be fully mature at 20 years of age when she will return to the site of her birth to mate. Until then the Pacific is hers to play in. We hope that she will stay safe and out of fishermen’s nets and live a long and happy life.

The Hibiscus Foundation was founded in 1992 by Leo and Lolita the owners of the Hibiscus Hotel Taha’a. The foundation buys turtles caught in fishermen’s nets and then releases them back into the wild. By December 2001 the foundation had released 1019 turtles back into the wild. The Foundation raises money through donations and the adoption scheme.

For some more information about the Foundation:
http://www.tahaa-tahiti.com/
http://raiatea.com/seaturtle/index.html