SPOTTING OF LOGGERHEAD SEA TURTLE

[Anchor Lead]

A loggerhead sea turtle was recently found in the nation's northernmost waters near Goseong-gun County, Gangwon-do Province. In Korea, the turtle is sometimes spotted in waters off Jeju-do Island and Gyeongsang-do Province. It is rare for the animal to be found in the nation's east coastal region.

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A reddish brown sea turtle disappears into the dark ocean. It was caught in a net in waters four kilometers off the coast of Goseong. It was later discovered and rescued by fishermen.

[Soundbite] Yoo Myung-geun(Captain) : "When we pulled up the net to collect fish in the morning, there was a turtle in there. So we checked if it was alive. We returned it to the sea."

This is a loggerhead sea turtle characterized by its reddish, heart-like back shell and a large head. The turtle is believed to be 30 to 50 years old, as it weighs 80 kilograms and its back shell measures over 70 centimeters. As an international endangered species, no more than one loggerhead turtle is spotted in Korea a year. The marine reptile was found along the east coast just in two occasions.

[Soundbite] Kim Il-hoon(Nat'l Marine Biodiversity Institute) : "It is a relatively cold region. So turtles rarely appear here. But some turtles are found to travel north to Gangwon-do Province."

There are five types of sea turtles, including the loggerhead, living in Korea and all of them are endangered species. Experts say that sea turtles are spotted more often than ever and even in northern waters. They call for additional research on the correlation between climate change and the marine creature's appearances.