A sea turtle re-enters the ocean via Nantucket Sound on the tail end of late year’s rehabilitation efforts. Photo credit: New England Aquariuim
BOSTON – With temperatures dropping, the New England Aquarium has announced that it is already treating hundreds of hypothermic sea turtles washing up on state beaches.
Since November 7, staff and volunteers with the Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary have scrambled to rescue 207 confirmed turtles (so far) and transport them to the Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital for critical medical care.
“The sea turtle stranding season is off to a very quick start,” said Adam Kennedy, the Aquarium’s Director of Rescue and Rehab. “With over 200 turtles arriving at our facility in such a short time – and so early in the season – we need to pace ourselves for likely big numbers this year.”
The annual phenomenon of turtle strandings has been further exacerbated by changing climate conditions in recent years, which have drawn sea turtle migrations further north and made them more vulnerable to becoming trapped in Cape Cod Bay while attempting to return south for the winter months.
As the influx of turtles being brought in for care stretches hospital capacity to its limits, the Aquarium is coordinating with the NOAA Fisheries Service and nationwide partners to ensure top level turtle care.
During the past week alone, 35 turtles were transferred by plane to the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center and the NC Aquarium in North Carolina.
Experts remind the public that a cold-stunned turtle may appear lifeless when washed ashore on regional beaches, but that quick removal, cover, and a timely call to the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary can be the difference between life and death for a stranded turtle.
Last year, the Aquarium treated 518 stranded turtles.
Undaunted, Kennedy said that “thanks to decades of doing this conservation work, the New England Aquarium is well positioned to ensure high-quality care for the weeks and months ahead.”
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