Mystic Aquarium released 22 rehabilitated sea turtles back into the wild on Jekyll Island
The cohort of turtles represented three endangered species—14 green sea turtles, six loggerheads and two critically endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtles—all found washed up and cold-stunned on Cape Cod, Massachusetts last fall when water temperatures in Cape Cod Bay dropped below 50 degrees.
Sarah Callan, program manager of Mystic Aquarium's Animal Rescue Program, explained that with climate change, northern waters are experiencing more abrupt rather than gradual drops in temperatures, higher wind conditions and swifter currents.
'Cape Cod Bay is a really unique geographical area, because lots of sea turtles go into the bay to feed, and once that temperature starts to drop, they have to swim north to get back down south to get out of the bay,' said Callan. 'A lot of the smaller turtles—the ones we see are mostly juveniles—don't have the strengths to fight those winds and currents…before the cold snap hits.'
As reptiles, the turtles cannot regulate their body temperatures and go into a hypothermic state with slowed heart rates, shallow breathing, confusion, and inability to swim. Marine biologists from the New England Aquarium in Boston triaged the sea turtles, stabilized the ones they could save and transported them two hours to Mystic, Connecticut, where Callan described the slow process of re-elevating each turtles' temperatures into the 70-degree range and gently reintroducing food to allow their systems to acclimate.
'When they first come in, we have little surfboards for them. They're like foam squares that we cut out because many of them are too weak to even swim on their own, but you want to keep them buoyant in the water to some degree and getting their body used to swimming again.'
Each turtle's rehabilitation plan was individualized, based on medical tests that looked for underlying infections and other issues.
This contingent of 22 turtles representing three different species was historic for the Animal Rescue Program—the largest and most diverse it has handled at one time in its 50-year history of covering more than a thousand miles of coastline in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Fisher's Island, New York.
'The conservation impact that we can have on these wild populations is huge,' said Callan. 'When you think about rehabbing and releasing one sea turtle, that turtle can lay thousands of eggs in its lifetime.'
When the turtles were ready for their natural habitat again, Callan said they had to find a suitable release site with the right water temperatures and plenty of food sources. Jekyll Island, just off Brunswick, Georgia proved ideal. Working in partnership with other sea turtle and rescue organizations, Mystic Transportation carried the turtles in temperature-controlled vehicles 20 hours south along the I-95 corridor.
Once at Jekyll, biologists and volunteers with the Georgia Sea Turtle Center helped set the turtle bins along the water line. The larger turtles were able to power across the sand with their flippers to catch a wave. The smaller turtles were carried into the water and let go.
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Although they have a better chance for survival now, the turtles still face perils beyond being prey for sharks and other large predators, namely getting entangled in fishing line, nets and ropes as well as ingesting plastics, something Callan is seeing more and more of with other sea life such as seals, dolphins and whales.
Necropsies provide some of the most valuable information regarding the health of our oceans and waterways. 'There's tons of pollution out there in terms of marine debris,' Callan said, but she recently had two seals test positive for a parasite that affects animals' nervous systems that can be contracted only from opossum feces, which means that parasite is getting into the ocean through runoff into waterways.
'Think about pollutants and the things we spray on our lawns. All the sort of toxins that's going right into the waters, the fish are eating it, and we're essentially ingesting that, too. So, I think that people sometimes just assume we're dealing with the health of animals, but it really is the health of the entire ocean and how that's also affecting people.'
Callan cautioned against being overwhelmed, however, noting that more than 40 volunteers helped with the rehabilitation of the 22 sea turtles released last week. 'It's really important that people start to take individual action to help the environment. In the end, that's what's going to make the most difference.'
Amy Paige Condon is a content coach, editor and reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach her at ACondon@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: 22 endangered sea turtles released on Jekyll Island Georgia
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