Peachy the Magazine Summer 2018 | Page 81

INSPIRATION Two recent success stories include Crush and Fluke. Crush was stranded in Jarvis Creek near Hilton Head Island, SC. A green sea turtle, Crush was found floating at the surface of the water and was unable to dive. Crush had a heavy epibiota load of sea squirts and bar- nacles on his top shell and was affected by the cold weather and water tempera- tures off the South Carolina coast. Fluke, a Kemp’s ridley, was “caught” by a fisherman at Price Inlet, near Caper’s Island, SC. Unfortunately, Fluke had swallowed the line and required surgery to remove the hook. After months of treatment and rehabil- itation, both turtles were released into the warm waters of Big Talbot State Park, Jacksonville, FL, with PIT tags (PIT tags are similar to microchips and can be scanned). To find out more about sea turtle res- cue efforts, check out: The Whitney Lab-Sea Turtle Hospital, St. Augustine Ways You Can Help Sea Turtles • Organize a beach clean-up day. • Never leave fishing line behind. • Do not feed sea turtles or other wildlife. • Reduce the amount of plastic garbage you produce. • Turn off the lights. Keep beachfront lights off throughout the night from May to October as they can confuse sea turtles during the mating season. • Reduce the amount of fertilizers you use. Lawn and garden fertilizers wash into coastal waters, killing plants and animals. • Don’t release helium balloons. They end up drifting into the oceans where sea turtles mistake them for one of their main food sources, jellyfish. The Marine Science Center, Ponce Inlet South Carolina Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Care Center, Charleston n SUMMER 2018 79