The picture shows a 300-year-old green turtle captured by a fisherman in Putian, a costal city in southeast China's Fujian Province on Wednesday, July 2, 2008. [Photo: xmnnn.cn]

A fisherman in Putian, a costal city in southeast China's Fujian Province, accidentally captured a 300-year-old green turtle when fishing on Wednesday, local newspaper the Strait News reported.

Fisherman Lin Shaohua took the turtle home since it was injured and reported to the local police station.

According to an expert from the local fishery department, the turtle is over 300 years old, as judged from its scales. The expert says it is very rare since the green turtle's average life span is about 100 years.

The turtle is 1.2-meter in length and 1.1-meter in width and weighs 85 kilograms.

After receiving medical treatment from the policemen, the turtle was released back to the sea on Wednesday afternoon.

Green turtle is an endangered aquatic wild species under national protection.