Coast Guard Flies Sea Turtles to Miami

COURTESY OF THE U.S. COAST GUARD
A Loggerhead Turtle waits to be loaded on an Air Station Cape Cod HC- 144 Ocean Sentry aircraft, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016, in Cape Cod, Mass. Loggerhead Turtles are protected under the Endangered Species Act.

SANDWICH – An Air Station Cape Cod Coast Guard crew flew five cold-stunned Loggerhead turtles to Miami on Wednesday.

The Coast Guard worked in partnership with the New England Aquarium and NOAA to ensure the sea turtles were safely transported to a warmer climate.

The turtles, some weighing almost 100 pounds, were flown on the HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft to Coast Guard Air Station Miami were they were turned over to Miami Seaquarium staff.

“The most important thing is that they temperature for these turtles stay between 68 and 75 degrees during transport,” said Kate Sampson, a sea turtle stranding and disentanglement coordinator with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

This year’s turtle stranding season has seen over 500 cold-stunned sea turtles wash up on Cape Cod beaches which is the second most behind last year’s record season. More than 1,200 turtles were cold-stunned turtles were found last year.