A turtle named Janis was released back into the sea on Thursday in Gnejna Bay after being rescued by an AFM official during a tempest in February.
Crowds of schoolchildren clapped as the the twelve year old loggerhead slowly waddled down the sand and disappeared into the blue.
Janis was found entangled in marine debris during the storm earlier this year that caused €25 million in damage.
The AFM official, Duncan who rescued the turtle, was also among the crowd watching the release of the turtle with his two year old son, after whom the loggerhead was named.
"She was in a very bad state when we found her."
"She was entangled in nets and rope. It's beautiful to see her healthy after 8 months. It gives me great satisfaction to witness her being released today."
Janis was nursed back to health by Nature Trust Malta and fitted with a satellite tracker that will enable the public to track the turtle on her journey back into the wild.
A spokesperson for Delicata Winery, who sponsored the tracking device and the awareness campaign behind it, said that people will be able to track the turtle live on their facebook page.
"The tracking device on the turtle has many purposes. It will help researchers study the path for migration and the behaviour of the turtles. It could alert us to something wrong with the turtle, in which case we can intervene. And it create more interest in the topic."
Around fifty turtles were rescued by Nature Trust Malta last year, said the CEO of the NGO, Vince Attard. The main threats to the marine animals are the ingestion of plastics, entanglement in marine debris, and being hit by vessels.
Last year alone a juvenile 8 year old leatherback was found with four plastic bags in her stomach, by the organisation. These turtles live to be a hundred twenty years old, so it was terrible to know that the juvenile died in such a way, Mr Attard told the school children who were present at the event.
Today was also the launch of the litterless campaign, which aims to engage and educate young people on the issue of litter. The main themes for this year will be 'no to plastic bags' and 'plastic free beaches'.