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
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