On Tuesday, June 28, 2023, the Gulfarium’s C.A.R.E. Center successfully released five rehabilitated sea turtles back into the Gulf of Mexico at Inlet Beach.
The Gulfarium C.A.R.E. Center continues to be busy with turtle patients this summer. Tuesday’s release included four Loggerheads and one Kemps ridley. Several C.A.R.E Center staff team members and their volunteers, as well as many dedicated onlookers, joined the release.
- “Pear”, a sub-adult loggerhead sea turtle weighing in at 108lbs, was accidentally hooked at the Okaloosa Island Fishing Pier on June 23rd. After a mild sedation, two fishing hooks were removed from Pear’s mouth and esophagus, giving Pear a clean bill of health and clearance for release.
- “Grilled Cheese”, also a sub-adult loggerhead sea turtle weighing in at only 65lbs., was accidentally foul hooked at Okaloosa Island Fishing pier on June 24th with a sabiki and a J-hook in the right front flipper. Both hooks were easily removed and Grilled Cheese was ready to go home.
- “Big Bertha”, an adult female loggerhead weighing in at a whopping 185lbs, was accidentally hooked by a shark fisherman on May 21. Bertha had the large shark fishing hook in her esophagus as well as a small J-hook attached to a metal leader line, according to the CARE Center. In addition, Bertha had entanglement wounds on both front flippers due to previous fishing line entanglement. Bertha’s hooks were removed non-surgically and she continued to receive antibiotics to treat her flipper wounds. After one month of rest and recovery Bertha was cleared for release.
- “Apricot”, a sub-adult loggerhead, and “Rosa”, and adult female Kemps ridley, joined the release last minute after quick hook removals and health assessments at the C.A.R.E. Center.
“We continue to see many foul-hooked turtles come in to the CARE Center this season,” states Tabitha Siegfried, Gulfarium’s Stranding Coordinator. “These turtles are otherwise healthy, so being able to turn them around so quickly is exhausting but definitely rewarding. We are very grateful for our volunteers to help us care for these turtles.”
If you see a sea turtle in distress, injured, or deceased please report it to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission immediately at 1-888-404-FWCC (1-888-404-3922).
