Thanks to all who pitched in to rescue turtles

Over the past few weeks we have experienced unseasonably cold temperatures throughout our state. As a result, thousands of sea turtles have been affected along the Panhandle and both coasts in the central and southern areas of Florida. However, most of those sea turtles are now back in the warm waters where they belong.

In Gulf County’s St. Joe Bay alone, 1,750 green sea turtles and a smaller number of loggerheads and Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles were rescued. While some turtles died, the majority have already been released in warmer Gulf waters. More than 2,100 sea turtles were brought to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, where staff from the refuge, the Kennedy Space Center, the NOAA Fisheries Service and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), along with many volunteers, provided help for the rescued sea turtles, and most of them have been released into the Atlantic Ocean. As a result of the generous donation of time, hard work and equipment, FWC biologists have reported that approximately 80 percent of all the turtles rescued will survive. Without the collaborative efforts of many, these sea turtles would have died, making them even more perilously endangered.

On behalf of the FWC, I want to thank the legions of volunteers who turned out to do whatever was needed to help in the rescue.

Some volunteers waded the shallows of St. Joe Bay looking for cold-stressed turtles. Others used canoes or kayaks in their search efforts, even though temperatures and chill factor were in the low 20s or teens. Still other volunteers worked at the collection sites bundling the turtles for warmth, and then there were those who worked at the trio of rehab facilities on the Gulf Coast.

There were also local businesses that stepped up to the plate and offered assistance. These included Scallop Cove BP of Cape San Blas, who provided life jackets and kayaks to volunteers, and Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse Store and Ryder, who provided transport trucks for moving the turtles to rehab facilities.

Thanks, as well, to the numerous local organizations and county, state and federal agency personnel who helped. These included staff and members of the St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve; Friends of St. Joseph Bay Preserve; Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve; St. Andrew Bay Turtle Watch; South Walton Turtle Watch; Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge; Florida Department of Environmental Protection - Coastal and Aquatic Managed Area; Florida Park Service; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; U.S. Geological Survey; Eckerd College and the FWC.

Of course, special thanks to Gulf World Marine Park on Panama City Beach for opening your doors, facilities and providing staff to care for the majority of the cold-stressed turtles. Your openness and cooperation is something in which every citizen of our great state can take pride.

Last, I want to thank Gulfarium in Ft. Walton Beach and Gulf Specimen Marine Lab in Panacea and your staff for caring for turtles at your facilities.

There may be groups I failed to recognize, but please rest assured your efforts did not go unnoticed. Thanks to each of you who helped.

Rodney Barreto, Chairman

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission