A plan to relocate sea turtles in advance of the America’s Cup has sparked concerns from environmentalists about the impact on the animals’ health.

The plan is intended to protect turtles from the heavy marine traffic anticipated in the Great Sound.

However, Greenrock executive director Jonathan Starling said confining the turtles could lead to illness and stress while failing to prevent other turtles from entering the race area.

“We recognise the reasoning behind the action,” Mr Starling said.

“We are hopeful that this action will, indeed, reduce the potential for sea turtles to be injured or killed during the heightened marine activity of the America’s Cup. If it even saves one turtle that otherwise would have been killed, that’s great.

“Despite this, there are questions that need to be asked.”

Read more here: http://www.royalgazette.com/americas-cup—news/article/20170510/rescue-plan-could-stress-out-turtles