A green sea turtle found stranded and sick on Middleton Beach has been rescued in an "unusual" find south of Adelaide.
The turtle, which would usually live in tropical or sub-tropical waters, was spotted in a large deposit of seaweed by local resident Jenn Symonds.
She contacted local wildlife volunteers who then moved the heavy animal out of the seaweed and onto the sand.
Justine Biddle from Goolwa-based Wildlife Welfare Organisation said he had never dealt with a marine turtle such as this one before.
He said the turtle appeared to be exhausted when found and was regurgitating a pink liquid.
The local volunteers, and residents, assisted National Parks and Wildlife Service staff in rescuing the turtle, which was taken to Adelaide for assessment by a wildlife veterinarian.
A 'pretty unusual' find
Dr David Booth from the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Queensland said while green turtles did occasionally turn up away from their normal habitat, it was "pretty unusual" to see one as far south as a South Australian beach.
"If it's on the beach, it's sick. It's not well," he said.
He said one of the biggest problems for marine turtles was the amount of plastic debris in the oceans.
Dr Booth said the turtle had likely travelled down the east coast to SA and would not survive in the cold waters during winter.
He said there did appear to be an increase in the number of unusual sightings of the marine turtles, with a female nesting at Wollongong on the south coast of New South Wales only two weeks ago.
"The best we could say is there does appear to be an increase of sea turtles further south, which could be explained by warmer waters," Dr Booth said.
Plastics involved in 90pc of rescues
SA-based Australian Marine Wildlife Rescue Organisation president Aaron Machado said the adult turtle looked to have an infection, possibly as a result of a foreign body ingestion.
He said 90 per cent of the animals his organisation dealt with were impacted by plastics.
"Everything they eat after that builds up in their intestines," Mr Machado said.
He said this made it difficult for the animals to stay submerged in ocean currents.
Mr Machado said his organisation had cared for five or six green turtles in the past nine months.
