A stunning return
While the release of cold-stunned turtles is a frequent occurrence on the Forgotten Coast, last week’s return of turtles into St. Joseph Bay at Salinas Park was among the biggest on record.
Before an enthusiastic crowd, a host of volunteers, including Florida’s First Lady Casey DeSantis, returned 395 turtles to the deep on Wednesday morning, Jan. 29. Many of these same volunteers had been the ones who had rescued the turtles from the chilly waters of St. Joe Bay during the Winter Storm Enzo cold snap that had shut down businesses and schools.
The Gulf World Marine Institute in Panama City had received more than 1,000 turtles that had been scooped out of St. Joe Bay after they showed the signs of lethargy brought on by the rapid onset of frigid temperatures in shallow bays and estuaries below 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Since turtles are not able to regulate their body temperature, the cold puts them in a near-comatose state, and many were seen floating on the surface of the water or washed up on the shoreline.
“Unfortunately if they stay in that cold stunned state, they can have organ failure.
“The majority were green sea turtles, we also had a few loggerheads and Kemp’s ridleys,” said Paige Douglas, a staffer at GWMI. “We had no leatherbacks, as St. Joseph Bay is not their primary habitat. Leatherbacks need extremely deep water.”
The sea turtles being released were brought into rehab by a varied crew, with their search, rescue and transport conducted by people from the U.S. Geological Survey, Gulf County Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission law enforcement, St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, Florida Coastal Conservancy, Indian Pass Sea Turtle Patrol, Tyndall Air Force Base Natural Resources, Eglin AFB, NOAA, USDA, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and FWC biologists.
“Thankfully these turtles were all healthy enough for a quick turnaround, allowing them to return to the Gulf of Mexico promptly,” said Douglas. “We were working extremely hard to get them tagged. We just try to get them out as soon as they’re medically cleared, at the soonest opportunity to get them back into their natural habitat.”
The protocol called for the veterinary staff to slowly acclimate the turtles to warmer water in kiddie pools, to get them active again, and then test their abilities to ensure they are swimming and diving well.
“The majority were otherwise healthy,” said Douglas. “A few turtles had other underlying conditions. We found a couple with fishing line entanglements; they will stay in our care.”
She said that Gulf World was very grateful for the assistance of the many volunteers who aided the search-and-rescue teams. They included a contingent from the Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center; and assistance from Bruno’s Pizza, Scallop Cove, Windmark Beach Homeowners Association, Point South Marina and The Italian Kitchen.
“The volunteers have been instrumental throughout this event,” said Douglas. “We’re fortunate to have support of their organizations. We’re very thankful to everyone who donated time.”
If you see a stranded or deceased dolphin, whale or sea turtle, please immediately report to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 1-888-404-3922 or #FWC on your cell phone.
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.