Stranded or reported in trouble last winter on the French Channel-Atlantic coast, 9 loggerhead turtles have returned to the ocean after spending some time in care at the CESTM at the Aquarium La Rochelle.

A fresh start

Teams from the Aquarium and school classes have named them Palma, Pertuis, Poséidon, Pectini, Pelagy, Poissonnette, Pavois, Papyrus and Perle. On Monday 30 June 2025, they returned to their natural habitat: the ocean.

These nine loggerhead turtles had stranded or had been spotted in difficulty in various places along the Channel-Atlantic coast. Repatriated to the Aquarium La Rochelle, they were examined, cared for and then prepared for release back into the water by Florence Dell’Amico, head of the Study and Care Centre for Sea Turtles (CESTM).

Improving knowledge of marine turtles

As part of a research programme into the “lost years” (the first years of a sea turtle's life, about which we know very little today), each of the nine turtles set off for the ocean wearing an Argos beacon on its shell. These beacons will be used to track the routes taken by each turtle remotely.
This is a significant step forward in the research and protection of this species, as locating individuals makes it easier to set up protection programmes.

The position of the turtles at D+79

The Palma transmitter is the last one still working out of those installed last June: 100 days today! She has now left Galicia, where the water temperature is 18°C. Her transmitter has a depth sensor that tells us she spends an average of 68% of her time underwater, mainly in the top 5 meters of the water column. Her diving record is 27 meters!

9 sea turtles treated at the Aquarium La Rochelle are back in the ocean!

A fresh start

Improving knowledge of marine turtles

The position of the turtles at D+79