I just want to share with you a couple of interesting news pieces that I have come across this week.

The video below, released by NOAA and posted on the USCG website, shows the capture and assessment of sea turtles in the gulf.



This article describes Kemp's ridley sea turtle hatchlings being released into the gulf from Padre Island National Seashore. Since Texas remains oil-free, this procedure will continue as in previous years.


Kemp's ridley hatchlings being released. (Photo credit: AP via Yahoo News)

~Kerry

Hi all,

I'm back from some travel (that didn't involve rescuing sea turtles in 115+ degree heat - imagine that!) Upon my return, the Aquarium's mapping specialists notified me that we were still receiving strong signals from our released dolphins.

To refresh your memory, back in March of this year we responded to a mass stranding of white-sided dolphins. Upon arrival one animal was dead however four others were found alive. (Click here for much more information about this stranding event.)

In the photo below you can see the three live dolphins in the foreground and the deceased dolphin on it's side in the background. The other live dolphin was a smaller animal found in the mud about 50 yards from this group.


In the photo below a team of us prepared to perform health exams on the dolphins.


Kerry performed a health exam on the smaller dolphin found separated from the group. In the photo below Kerry collects a heart rate using a stethoscope.


Prior to release, Kate and I tagged two of the dolphins with TDR (time depth recorders) satellite tags from Wildlife Computers. The photo below shows the tag attached to the fin of the dolphin prior to release.


Okay enough with the stranding event history...the animals were released on March 11, 2010 from Provincetown, MA. Since that time the tags have been sending data on the location, dive depth, time at depth and other important behavioral information. Years ago we had no means of determining survival of these mass stranded dolphins that were transported and beach released. This tagging project has given us great insight into their survival, behavior and habitat use.

As you will see from their tracks in the map below, both animals have traveled extensively and appear to have re-entered their habitat successfully after a traumatic stranding, relocation and release. It should not be simplified though that this will work for every stranded cetacean (whale, dolphin or porpoise). Careful health assessments are performed on each animal to determine if they are fit for transport and release.

In the map below, the travels of the two dolphins are shown in different colors for ease of viewing. The small inset map in the top right corner highlights the extensive distance traveled by one of the dolphins.


This research has been vital to our stranding response and has helped us refine our health assessment protocols, transport methods and release criteria for mass stranded dolphins. The data collected from this research project has been compiled and was recently submitted for peer-review publication. We patiently await word of its acceptance...I'll keep you posted.

- Connie

Harbor seal pup season has arrived so I thought I would give you an update on what the rescue team has been doing in the field and a reminder of what to do when you see a seal on the beach.

While Adam and Connie are away, I thought I'd give you an update on the journey of rescued sea turtles from the Gulf.

SeaWorld Orlando just took more sea turtles from Gulf World, in Panama City, FL. 6 Kemp's ridley and 13 green sea turtles were de-oiled at Gulf World and then transferred to SeaWorld, where they will have more space to care for these animals. Here is a video that shows their path to recovery at SeaWorld.

This week we released 10 of our Kemp's ridley sea turtles at Dowses Beach in Osterville. These turtles were released into Nantucket Sound after eight months of rehabilitation. Several of our volunteers came down with the Rescue staff early Wednesday morning to see our patients return to the wild.


Rescue interns and staff arrived at the Aquarium at 6 a.m. to box up the turtles. Here they are lined up in front of the Sea Turtle Recovery Room.


We arrived at the beach and lined up the turtles. Adam gave our volunteers the signal, and the turtles were placed on the beach to make their way to the water.

So the Northeast Region again has several experts down in the Gulf looking for and taking care of oiled sea animals.

The Riverhead foundation for Marine Research and Preservation has two members of of its staff down on the waters of the Gulf looking for oiled animals. They will be rotating staff members through December or until they are no longer needed in the Gulf. Currently they are working on getting a blog up but have little to no Internet access. Once they do we will let you know. Oh, and a helpful hint given to them for responders is to not store cans or jarred food in the vehicles. They tend to explode due to the heat. I guess Connie wasn't exaggerating (she reports on the heat in this post).

Below is some of what the group will be heading out to do! This is a photo of Dr. Brian Stacy collecting an oiled Kemp's ridley.

Photo credit: Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times

Christina Trapani from the Virginia Aquarium working with one of the AoA turtles. (Photo Credit: Audobon Institute)
Photo Credit: Dave Martin AP

Below is a map from the NOAA Environmental Response Management Application with markers indicating where all the turtles and marine mammals have been sighted so far in the gulf.

To all the responders that are either there or are planning on heading down: Stay cool and good luck!

As Connie is away for a bit Kerry and Adam have been charged with keeping the weekly updates going. So here we go.

Hi all,

Sorry for missing my self inflicted oil spill blog deadline - the past few days were crazy for me and I never got to it. Speaking of which lets get to the matter at hand, the weekly oil spill update.

This week 11 sea turtles were transported out of the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, (IMMS) located in Mississippi, to free up space for oiled sea turtles. Nine of the turtles went to SeaWorld and two went to Disney. None of these animals were oiled however, each stranded with injuries related to interactions with humans. I believe several were hooked accidentally by local fishermen. IMMS will now have more space available to accept oiled sea turtles if it becomes necessary.

In the photo below, Jane Davis, curator for Disney's animal programs, checks over a Kemp's ridley sea turtle fresh off the transport plane. Disney is a long time partner of ours in the effort to save endangered sea turtles; two of their veterinarians are NEAq alum!

Photo credit: AP/John Raoux

In the photos below SeaWorld veterinarian, Dr. Scott Gearhart, examines a Kemp's ridley sea turtle upon arrival to their facility.

Photo credits: AP/John Raoux

In the photo below on the left a SeaWorld staff member, Lateesha Hektner, lowers a sea turtle into its new rehabilitation pool. I borrowed the photo on the right from the SeaWorld blog to show their excellent triage facility. Sea World has a talented staff in veterinary medicine and in their ability to design and quickly set up emergency facilities for events such as this oil spill. This triage center below is excellent in that the flow through water systems will provide excellent water quality for these animals.

Photo credit (left): AP/John Raoux
Photo credit (right): SeaWorld Rescue

The other significant and current news regarding sea turtles is the announcement by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the NOAA Fisheries Service to relocate nests. They plan to dig up upwards of 70,000 sea turtle eggs along the nesting beaches in Alabama and Florida in hopes of salvaging this nesting season. In short, the fear is that the hatchlings will enter the Gulf and either consume contaminated food and die or perish in the oil itself. I'll summarize the situation for you, however you should really read about it yourself (see link below).

I have read most every online story about this issue and have attached a link below for the best article. This article is the most significant since it quotes both Barbara Schroeder, biologist in charge of sea turtles for NOAA (read more about her here) and Sandy MacPherson, biologist in charge of sea turtles for the Fish and Wildlife Service. These two women have made it their life's work to study, promote and protect sea turtles. Their combined impact on sea turtles is immeasurable. It brings me great comfort to know that they are leading the charge to save as many sea turtle as possible throughout this oil spill disaster.

Barbara Schroeder and Sandy MacPherson both know and acknowledge that the nest relocation plan will have its risks and that they expect some number of mortality. The relocation plan, directed by Sandy, outlines strict handling protocols and transport protocols. Relocating nests is not a new science and they will use every effort to reduce the number of deaths. Through the natural process of nesting, hatchlings emerging from the nest already experience a high mortality rate. Eggs are dug up and consumed by predators, nests flood and birds and other animals consume many of the hatchlings as they crawl down the beach. I can only speculate that the mortality in a controlled environment eliminating the factors above might be equal or less than the natural mortality rate... only time will tell. Either way they have to do something to salvage this nesting season. The devastation on the population if we loose this entire nesting season could prove disastrous for Kemp's ridleys and loggerheads in particular.

Click here for access to the article I mentioned above.

- Connie

As always, use this link if you're looking for ways you can help during the disaster in the Gulf.

We have very exciting news about Goose, the green sea turtle that was released last August. His satellite tag is transmitting again!