CMA Staff, Volunteers Help 7,000 Sea Turtle Hatchlings To Gulf

Clearwater Marine Aquarium calculates that it helped safely guide 7,399 live hatchlings to the Gulf of Mexico during the 2008 sea turtle nesting season.

During this year’s season, which runs from May through October, 108 nests were located on Pinellas County beaches. That’s a significant increase from 2007 when only 38 nests were found.

CMA oversees sea turtle nesting on 26 miles of Pinellas County beaches, locating and protecting nests and ensuring the hatchlings make their way into the ocean. Over the last three years, CMA has released more than 20,000 hatchlings into the Gulf.

CMA’s sea turtle nesting work involves early morning patrols to locate new nesting sites, and late night patrols to check existing nests for hatchlings. The morning patrols are usually done by staff, interns and volunteers who are trained to recognize the tracks left behind by the nesting females. Once tracks are identified, the egg cavity can be found and the nest can be marked off for further observation. CMA also GPS-locates the nest to ensure its location remains easy to find for daily observation.

Five species of sea turtles are found in the Gulf of Mexico, including green sea turtles, loggerhead sea turtles, hawksbill sea turtles, Kemp's Ridley sea turtles and leatherback sea turtles.

The aquarium, dedicated to marine life rescue, rehabilitation and release, is at 249 Windward Passage, Clearwater. Call 727-447-0980.

Clearwater Marine Aquarium staff and volunteers release a sea turtle into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Photo courtesy of CLEARWATER MARINE AQUARIUM