Endangered turtle found far from home

A critically-endangered sea turtle has ridden the East Australian Current, the route made famous in Finding Nemo, all the way to the continental shelf drop-off on the NSW Central Coast.

The Australian Reptile Park were called on Monday morning after a fishing charter found a strange-looking turtle floating 40km off Terrigal Beach.

Head of Conservation Tim Faulkner identified the injured animal as a 10-year-old female hawksbill sea turtle.

"We immediately named the turtle Fluke because she's lucky to be alive," he said.

Hawksbill turtles are predominantly found in tropical waters off Queensland, meaning Fluke just kept swimming for up to 2000km.

Her southern ordeal is not over yet.

She will be treated at an animal hospital in Bondi before being taken to an aquarium for ongoing rehabilitation.

"If she survives, rehabilitation may take several years before we can release Fluke back into her natural habitat," Dr Chris Brown said.

The hawksbill sea turtle is currently facing extinction due to waterway pollution, shell hunting, and feral animals eating their unhatched eggs.