A turtle has been spotted swimming in the waters of the Hobart waterfront along the River Derwent this evening.
Dozens of onlookers have gathered at Elizabeth Street Pier to witness the ‘remarkable sight’, with the creature first sighted at around 6:15pm on Thursday night.
Lynden Brown took to the Citizen Scientists of Tasmania social media group to share a video of the turtle’s swim and request assistance with its identification.
Turtles typically do not breed in Tasmania and are considered ‘relatively rare’ visitors to the state’s cold waters.
A spokesperson from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment confirmed that their Marine Conservation Program had received reports about the turtle on the waterfront.
“A wildlife biologist visited the site to investigate these reports, however at this stage the turtle appears to have moved on,” they said on Friday morning.
“Marine turtles in Tasmanian waters are rare, but sightings occur more frequently at this time of year due to the extension of the East Australian Current.”
They asked for any future sightings of marine turtles to be reported to 0427 WHALES and Redmap.
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