USGS Scientists Will Be in the Field Rescuing Sea Turtles Jan 17-18

A cold wave potentially strong enough to harm or kill sea turtles is headed for North Florida. U.S. Geological Survey sea turtle expert Margaret Lamont is working with the state of Florida to coordinate rescues of cold-stunned sea turtles on Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 17 and 18, 2018. They will walk the marshy shoreline of Cape San Blas near Port St. Joseph, Florida, recovering cold-stunned turtles and transport them to a nearby marine park for care.

When water temperatures drop below 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius), cold-blooded sea turtles can become unable to swim or even raise their heads out of the water to breathe. During an intense cold spell January 1-7, Lamont and others rescued about 700 sea turtles that were washed ashore in a mass stranding in Northwest Florida's St. Joseph Bay.

Lamont, a wildlife ecologist based at the USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center in Gainesville, Florida, has run a research program studying and tracking sea turtles in St. Joseph Bay since 2001. Working with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, she will coordinate staffers and volunteers from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Eglin Air Force Base, and the non-profit Florida Coastal Conservancy in the rescues. These turtles will be rehabilitated at Gulf World Marine Park in Panama City Beach, Florida, before eventual release back into the bay.

Volunteers working with sea turtles must be trained and licensed, Lamont said.

Members of the public who sight a sea turtle in distress are asked to call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission’s 24-hour Wildlife Alert at 1-888-404-FWCC (3922).

More information is at http://myfwc.com/research/wildlife/sea-turtles/mortality/contact/USGS Scientists Will Be in the Field Rescuing Sea Turtles Jan 17-18

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