'A feeling you can't describe': Florida Aquarium releases 8 green sea turtles in Ormond

ORMOND BEACH — For sea turtles stricken by disease and poor health from the cold winter waters, being released back into the ocean is essentially a second chance at life.

Eight such sea turtles received that chance Wednesday morning in Ormond Beach, when they returned with a team from The Florida Aquarium to the Volusia County coast, where they were first found stranded.

It’s also one of the most memorable days in the lives of those who have cared for the turtles, from the day they arrive for rehabilitation until they’re released.

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“It’s a feeling you can’t really describe,” said Ashley Riese, director of the aquarium’s sea turtle conservation program. “From how sickly those animals were when they first came in to the way that they look now and knowing that all of the time you invested in these animals … that’s a feeling you can’t even describe.”

From The Florida Aquarium back to the ocean

Riese and a team of volunteers arrived at the Standish Beach Access on Ocean Shore Boulevard around 11:20 a.m., where several locals were waiting to watch the turtles swim away into the ocean.

All eight green sea turtles — Mel, Pepper, Calico, Tula, Pompano, Phyll, Mo and Mac — were brought from the aquarium’s rehabilitation facility in Apollo Beach, Hillsborough County near Tampa.

The Florida Aquarium is a nonprofit organization based in Tampa “actively engaged in stewardship of the natural environment as a conservation-based attraction with mission programs that include conservation, research, education and outreach,” according to its website.

According to a press release from the aquarium, the turtles were stranded off the Volusia County coast in March and “had been exposed to prolonged cold air and water temperatures.”

“They all suffered from low body temps and had to overcome medical conditions such as skin infections, pneumonia and other bacterial infections,” the press release added.

The University of Florida’s Whitney Lab Sea Turtle Hospital and the Marine Science Center performed the eight turtles’ initial triage treatment along with 22 additional green sea turtles.

The reptiles were later transferred to the aquarium’s Apollo Beach facility “for long-term supportive care, including antibiotics, and to fully recover,” according to the aquarium.

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“In winter season, when temperatures out here get cool enough, the turtle's body temperature actually drops low enough to where they can become susceptible to other issues — and we’re talking hundreds of turtles,” Riese said. “They need two to four months, sometimes six months to a year of rehabilitation in order to get to this point of releasing them.”

The aquarium’s higher capacity to accommodate more animals “frees up” space at the local hospitals, such as the Whitney Lab Sea Turtle Hospital and the Marine Science Center, where turtles receive an initial triage care, Riese added.

Turtles' recovery process is 'like a resurrection'

Once the turtles arrive at the Aquarium for long-term treatment, several people, including volunteers, participate in their recovery process.

Rachel Lucas, an aquarium volunteer for three years, said she was struck by how transformative the recovery process was for the animals.

“When they first come in, they are very quiet and you can tell they don’t want to move a lot, because they just don’t have the energy for it,” Lucas said. “And over time as we start giving fluids, medications, food and all the things that they need, they start getting stronger, and you see all their personalities come up.”

This is the first batch of turtles Lucas has seen from start to finish, calling today’s release a “rewarding” experience.

“It’s almost like a resurrection of sorts, because they’re very weak, dehydrated and you just get to see their bodies come alive,” she added. “It’s just such an honor to be able to do that.”

Colleen Moonen, another volunteer with the aquarium for two years, said it is “emotional” to see the aquarium’s work rehabilitating the turtles being completed.

“Just to see them shoot off felt like victory,” Moonen said. “A lot of people were involved (in the rehabilitation care), a lot of support, hours and people who stepped up to volunteer.”

Bringing awareness to sea turtles and their struggles during the winter’s cold water temperatures is also an important part of their work.

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“That’s how we get here,” Lucas said. “Colleen and I have gotten to this place where we want to give back, because we have seen things like this growing up. And being educated from a young age is so important to truly care why we are doing this.”

Moonen added: “I think people can connect when they see a small, vulnerable creature. It makes it real — the whole environmental effort and what is going on.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida Aquarium team releases 8 green sea turtles in Ormond Beach