Surge in exotic turtles being washed ashore Irish coast

RTÉ News​

2 days ago

There has been a surge in the number of exotic turtles being washed ashore on the Irish coast.
Five critically endangered loggerhead turtles are currently being cared for and recovering at Dingle Oceanworld Aquarium in Co Kerry.
Experts believe a recent marine heatwave in the Atlantic may have caused the turtles to travel much further north than usual.
The loggerhead turtle is normally found in the Gulf of Mexico and also near the Canary and Cape Verde islands.
The five turtles at the aquarium in Daingean Uí Chúis were rescued by members of the public in the past week.
They were found on beaches in Inch, Co Kerry, Lahinch and Kilkee in Co Clare, Conamara in Galway and Belmullet in Co Mayo.
Marine biologist Dr Kevin Flannery said it is highly unusual to see so many turtle strandings on the Irish coast.
"What's happened is there was a marine heatwave in the Atlantic in May and June and if these turtles were crossing the Atlantic with the rising water temperatures they would have wandered into our waters.
"And then, all of a sudden, cold shock would take hold when the water temperature dropped again," he said.
Dr Flannery added: "These are young and obviously they weren't able to swim south again, and they got washed in along our coastline in the last couple of weeks."
The turtles were extremely weak when they arrived at Dingle Oceanworld, but marine biologist Maria Foley said veterinary intervention and care is greatly assisting their recovery.
"When these guys come in, their biggest issue is they tend to be cold-stunned and dehydrated. A lot of the time they have buoyancy issues. Quite often they have inflammation in their lungs."
"What we do is we treat them with antibiotics and we rehydrate them and get them eating again."
When the turtles have recovered sufficiently, efforts will be made to have them flown to a turtle hospital in the Canary Islands.
Turtle strandings have been a rare occurrence on the Irish coast, but this year has brought a significant increase in the number of reports.
Earlier this year a young loggerhead turtle was found on a beach near Blacksod in Co Mayo, while a rare green turtle was washed up on a beach in Quilty, Co Clare last February.
In May, Aer Lingus assisted in the transport the green turtle to the Canary Islands.
Experts said the recovery of five loggerhead turtles in a single week is unprecedented.
Dingle Oceanworld is calling for Government funding to assist it in its turtle rehabilitation programme.
"With climate change and the increase in sea temperatures this is going to be an ongoing thing," Dr Flannery said.
He added: "The cost of collection, the cost of veterinary services, medication, heating, the cost of all the paperwork and repatriating them back to their native waters, it's a huge cost.
"We receive a certain amount of support from National Parks and Wildlife Service but we need much more."
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), cold-stunning occurs when sea turtles experience prolonged exposure to temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius, causing them to become lethargic, unable to swim, and at the mercy of the tides.
Gemma O'Connor of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) said it is important to remove the turtles from the water as soon as they are spotted.
"If you happen to find a turtle on a stranded beach you should not return it to the water.
"And if a turtle is found swimming it should be removed from the water immediately and brought to a warm place where its core temperature can rise slowly."
The IWDG is managing a sea turtle stranding recording scheme on behalf of the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
The group is asking the public to report any sightings of living turtles to the IWDG emergency hotline [phone]. Dingle Oceanworld will also respond to calls for recovery.