kemp's ridley
Oceana Joins National Aquarium for Sea Turtle Release
Yesterday was an exciting day for 5 rehabilitated Kemp’s ridley sea turtles. Last November, the endangered sea turtles were found stranded on the beaches of Massachusetts after having fallen victim to cold stunning, which is essentially sea turtle hypothermia.
They were immediately transported to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, where they received medical attention at the Marine Animal Rescue Program (MARP). After more than six months of rehabilitation, the sea turtles were finally deemed healthy enough to survive on their own.
MARP staff and members of the public gathered on the shore of Maryland’s Point Lookout State Park to bid farewell to the rehabbed turtles. Oceana was also there to help out, and campaign director Beth Lowell personally released Rudolph, one of the sea turtles re-entering the open ocean.
Oil Spill Quote of the Day
From Reuters UK today: The oil spill poses a large threat to the Kemp's Ridley population which makes its home in the Gulf.
"This is a major blow to that population," said Todd Steiner, executive director of the California-based Turtle Restoration Project, said. "Here you have a situation where the adults, hatchlings and juveniles are all in the Gulf."
New Report: The Oil Spill's Impact on Sea Turtles
Today we released a new report that describes the potential effects of the oil spill on endangered sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico.
Sea turtles can become coated in oil or inhale volatile chemicals when they surface to breathe, swallow oil or contaminated prey, and swim through oil or come in contact with it on nesting beaches.
As of yesterday, 32 oiled sea turtles have been found in the Gulf of Mexico and more than 320 sea turtles have been found dead or injured since the spill began April 20.
While some dead and injured sea turtles are found by search crews or wash up on the beach, some never will. Ocean currents often carry them out to sea where they can sink or be eaten by predators.
Our report shows that the ongoing oil spill can have the following impacts on sea turtles:
New BP Footage Belies Reports of Progress
A few oil spill updates for you today:
BP’s new video of the gusher
Though BP has been celebrating the first successful attempt to redirect oil to a tanker using a siphon, Senator Bill Nelson posted new BP footage that tells a different story. And disturbingly, reports are emerging that BP has been preventing journalists from documenting the spill.
A Tough Winter for Turtles
This winter has been a doozy around the country, and not just for humans. On Tuesday, The Miami Herald published a letter to the editor from Oceana's chief scientist Mike Hirshfield on the effect of this year's harsh winter on sea turtles. Check it out:
Officials are calling this one of the worst years on record for sea turtle strandings in the United States. Approximately 2,500 sea turtles have been found wounded or dead as a result of cold-stunning in the increasing frigid waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. Volunteers are busily scouring the coastline for sea turtles that can be rehabilitated and eventually released back into the wild, and rescue centers are becoming inundated with sea turtles fighting for survival.
To a scientist, it all makes perfect, if unfortunate, sense. Cold-blooded reptiles like sea turtles are simply unable to warm themselves in cold water. While sea turtles are commonly found in northern U.S. waters during the summer and early fall, they typically migrate to warmer climates by late October. Unfortunately, not all of them made it out before the area temperatures dropped to unbearable levels, and with a winter like we are having, it is bound to be a deadly scenario.
A Bad Year for Loggerheads
During my turtle trip to Bald Head Island, NC in June, the loggerhead nesting numbers were looking dismal, but it was fairly early in the season, so the folks at the Island Conservancy were hoping things would turn around. It turns out Bald Head had its worst nesting year on record since 1983.
This year's loggerhead nesting numbers are in, and yesterday Oceana announced that this year was one of the worst on record from North Carolina to Florida. In Florida, which accounts for nearly 90 percent of loggerhead nesting in the United States, nesting decreased by more than 15 percent in 2009.
