Another Green Turtle was killed over the weekend after it was sliced open by the propeller of a passing boat.

It was the seventh known fatatility in a year which experts say has seen an increase in incidents involving boats, many of which are believed to be speeding through the turtles' feeding beds.

The Green Turtle was found still alive in St. George's Harbour by a Canadian couple on Saturday night.

The couple immediately took it to veteranarians Dr. Maureen Ware and Dr. Jan Cieters, who found it had been sliced through its top-shell, had its intestines hanging outside of its shell and also had a punctured lung.

Unfortunately, the turtle had to be put to sleep.

Dr. Ware said: "The sad thing is, that this is not a rare occurrence. This species of turtle does not reach maturity (when it can reproduce) until it is 40 to 50 years old. "The turtle that died was probably about 15 years old. It was a senseless act.

"Turtles are smart animals and they usually are able to get out of the way of oncoming traffic, but this one was hit by something that had a ten-inch to a 12-inch propeller.

Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo head aquarist Jennifer Gray said: "There has been an increase over the past couple of years, this year we have already seen seven turtles die; and that's the ones that get brought in to us.

"It is sad because they take so long to reproduce. The trouble is that people are speeding through areas where turtles feed."

Dr. Gray added: "This turtle probably came from Mexico or Florida.

The turtles come to Bermuda for about a decade and they then head for the Caribbean. After that they had back to where they were hatched."

Dr. Ware said: "It's just a shame to see so many turtles mulched in this way. Many turtles are found with plastic bags in their stomachs.

"Boats are getting bigger, faster and more powerful and with that there is a lack of respect for the environment."

The Green Turtle was once an abundant species in Bermuda, but they have not bred here since the 1880s and a local population has been extinct for many years.

Dr. Ware believed that it was not a jet ski that hit the turtle because they crush the shell, as a boat propellers will cut the shell of the turtle.