Stranded sea turtles in critical condition wash along Cape Cod beaches, met by New England Aquarium rescue efforts

Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald on Dec 2, 2024

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BOSTON — After a rash of stranded turtles on Massachusetts shores in the last week, the New England Aquarium is now treating over 200 cold-stunned sea turtles in critical condition.

“With winds increasing and temperatures dropping, we have started to see more sea turtles enter the hospital in the last week,” said Adam Kennedy, aquarium Director of Rescue and Rehabilitation. “The New England Aquarium has developed ways to streamline intakes of these large numbers of patients, allowing us to give the best possible care to all of the turtles that enter our hospital.”

The aquarium said in a release Monday they have now treated a total of 257 sea turtles this season: 214 critically endangered Kemp’s ridley turtles, 39 green turtles, and four loggerheads.

In just the last two days, the staff rescued about 100 of those.

The aquarium staff, along with volunteers from Massachusetts Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, walk the beaches along Cape Cod in search of the cold-stunned creatures and take rescues to Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital in Quincy.

At the hospital, the animals are treated for the life-threatening medical conditions resulting from hypothermia and the inability to feed.

Melissa Joblon, Director of Animal Health at the aquarium, said most are taken in for ailments including “pneumonia, dehydration, traumatic injuries or sepsis.” They may be treated for weeks or months before being released into the ocean again, the aquarium said.

“During the busy admit period, most turtles receive a standard fluid plan and antibiotics; however, we aim to tailor our treatment plans to each individual as soon as caseload allows,” Joblon said.

Hundreds of the sea turtles wash up in critical condition during the period of fall and early winter as they become trapped in the hook of Cape Cod Bay due to the rapidly changing water temperature and wind pattern, the aquarium staff said. Partners through National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service, the non-profit organization Turtles Fly Too and others aid in rehabilitating the turtles as the number of injured surges.

The aquarium said each year most of the stranded turtles are the critically endangered species Kemp's ridleys. The species are increasingly threatened by “fisheries interactions, climate change, ocean pollution, and degradation of their habitats,” the aquarium said.

The aquarium will host a Giving Tuesday campaign to help support sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation with donations matched up to $100,000 on Dec. 3.

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