Mike Horne and Rosemary Tarlton with Dizzy, a three-limbed green turtle. Photo / Richard Robinson
When Dizzy the turtle was found flailing in the sea near Great Barrier Island, things were not looking good.
A shark had bitten off the 5-year-old's flipper and the messy wound looked as though it would cut short the green turtle's 100-year lifespan.
Now, the three-limbed creature, nicknamed Rascal by
keepers, is set to become a grand old dame of the sea.
But the kindness did not come cheap. In fact, Kelly Tarlton's chief executive Mike Horne estimated the six turtles it rescued annually cost $10,000 each.
Last night, on its 25th anniversary, the aquarium launched a marine wildlife trust to ring-fence that money and raise funds for future rescues.
Mr Horne hopes the trust, which was launched with the help of Kelly Tarlton's widow, Rosemary Tarlton, will raise enough to pay for public education and the expensive business of attaching satellite trackers to rescued animals when they are released.
Green turtles like Dizzy - who will reach 200kg and be at least four times her present size when she matures in about 15 years - are sometimes seen in Northland but "not a great deal is known about why they come here or where they go after they leave", said Mr Horne.
The trust will be financed by donations and contributions from Kelly Tarlton's, which has pledged $125,000 over the next five years.
As well as turtles, Kelly Tarlton's has rescued sea snakes and other marine creatures.
Rosemary Tarlton, the trust's patron, said she hoped to be involved in the education programmes.
She has started in a small way - reminding people she sees at the beach near her Orakei home not to leave their litter behind.
Mr Horne said two turtles brought in recently died because their stomachs were compacted with bits of plastic and other rubbish. "There was nothing we could do for them."
Meanwhile, families packed the aquarium yesterday after the entry fee was cut to $5 for the business' birthday.
The underwater world was opened in 1985 by diver and adventurer Kelly Tarlton and is now owned by Village Roadshow.
