Entanglement of ghost nets would be the number one common potential harm to marine turtles with some surviving long enough to reach a rehabilitation center. The challenge here would be to hydrate the turtle back to normal and increase its temperature through tank rehabilitation. This can be done by having a tank with 80-degree Fahrenheit water ready for new arrivals. In the case of a ghost trap, some marine turtles may be stunned. This would indicate water in tanks would need to be five degrees above their body temperature for stunned marine turtles (NOAA Fisheries, 2022).
Vessel strikes would be another common severe injury that would need to be treated at a marine turtle rehabilitation center. These injuries could entail stunned from hitting a seaworthy vessel, flipper injuries from the seaworthy vessel, or just about any kind of injury associated with seaworthy vessels. Rehabilitation of injured sea turtles would entail ensuring water is 80 degrees Fahrenheit within the tank. Use proper medicine for bacterial infections that could be occurring because of said injury. Make sure that there is no food the marine turtle can ingest within the tank before delivery of the sea turtle (NOAA Fisheries, 2022).
The local rehabilitation marine turtle facility can get together with the community and educate them on the dangers of fishing organizations in the area. A plan could be set in place like India does in making sure marine turtles are protected. In India, fishing communities help to make sure stray dogs or other animals do not take the marine turtle's eggs away. Fishermen look for ghost nets and unentangle marine turtles to save their lives. The fisheries then take marine turtles to rehabilitation centers for medical help. This type of education setting such as India has in place could save many marine turtles and is a proper way to educate the local fishing communities (Mahapatra, 2019).
Sources:
NOAA Fisheries. (July 13, 2022). Sea turtle species you might encounter in Alaska and steps to protect them. Retrieved from:
Mahapatra, B. (Feb.20, 2019). India, how local fishing communities are protecting the endangered olive ridley sea turtle. Retrieved from:
https://www.lifegate.com/india-fishing-communities-protect-olive-ridley-turtles