81 rehabilitated sea turtles released in eastern North Carolina

Kari Pugh, The Virginian-Pilot
·2 min read

With a little help from the Coast Guard, 81 sea turtles rehabilitated at North Carolina aquariums after a January mass cold-stunning event returned to their ocean home.

On Jan. 30, crews from Coast Guard Station Hatteras Inlet released 22 rehabilitated turtles from the N.C. Aquarium on Roanoke Island’s Sea Turtle Assistance & Rehabilitation (STAR) Center. The recovered patients were small, juvenile Kemp’s ridley and green species, the aquarium said in a release.

On Feb. 12, the crew aboard Coast Guard Cutter Richard Snyder released 59 turtles as part of a cruise from Station Fort Macon. The healthy turtles were taken to the Coast Guard station by volunteers from the Network for Endangered Sea Turtles and the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Surf City, along with biologists from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

The turtles released last week included North Carolina’s most common species: loggerhead, green, and Kemp’s ridley, the release said.

In mid-January, rescuers found more than 100 cold-stunned sea turtles on the Outer Banks after a cold snap dipped temperatures into the 20s.

Turtles are cold-blooded reptiles, and when water temperatures drop into the lower 40s or colder, their body functions slow and they become lethargic. They can struggle to lift their heads above water to breathe, and risk drowning, according to the aquarium.

On Hatteras and Ocracoke islands, the National Park Service works with volunteers to monitor the shorelines after frigid temperatures and take cold-stunned turtles to the STAR Center.

North of Oregon Inlet, volunteers with the Network for Endangered Sea Turtles conduct patrols of beaches and sounds from the Virginia line to Nags Head.

The aquariums are still caring for 62 cold-stunned sea turtles — 41 at the STAR Center on the Outer Banks; 15 at the N.C. Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores and six at the N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher.

To report strandings in Corolla, Duck, Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head, call the NEST hotline at 252-441-8622. On Hatteras Island or Ocracoke, call the National Park Service at 252-216-6892.