Rare
Sea Turtles Survive
NOAA Fisheries Team Saves "Cold Stunned" Turtles
by Chris Smith, NOAA Fisheries SE Region and
Jennifer Blackwelder, Florida Marine Research Institute
Photos by Shirley Brown, response volunteer.
When the sea's temperature drops below 50 degrees, sea turtles 
are
at risk of becoming cold stunned. Their bodies cannot withstand such
cold conditions and they become paralyzed, helplessly floating near
the surface where they are vulnerable to scavengers and illness.
A major sea turtle cold stunning event occurred earlier this year in
St. Joseph Bay, about 30 miles southeast of Panama City, Fla. Reports
of cold stunned turtles began flooding into NOAA Fisheries Panama City
Laboratory following the precipitous and unprecedented chilling of the
Gulf of Mexico that occurred in late December and early January.
"The unique geography of St. Joseph Bay contributed to this tragic event,"
said Nancy Evou, a fishery biologist with the Panama City Lab. "The
mouth of the bay opens to the north and there is no way for turtles
that enter the bay to continue their annual southerly migration along
the coast without exiting the bay the same way they entered. The bay
is also a well evolved eco-system that provides an optimal foraging
ground for several species of sea turtles. So it's possible that many
of the turtles were there foraging when the water temperature dropped
suddenly, immobilizing them and preventing their escape.
"It's not unusual for a few turtles to become stunned in St. Joseph
Bay each year. Unfortunately, due to the bay's rapid drop in temperature
during December and the time period that the water remained cold, we
documented 403 sea turtles that became trapped and cold stunned in the
bay. As far as we know a cold stunning event of this magnitude has never
happened before."
The first alarm came from a volunteer who reported sighting 24 cold
stunned turtles in St. Joseph Bay during the early morning hours of
January 2. The pace accelerated throughout the day with a report that
23 more had been collected -- and that three more were being found for
every 1,000 feet of shoreline. By the end of the day, 70 turtles had
been collected and transported to a marine park where all available
tanks were committed to sheltering cold stunned turtles.
Recovered juvenile green sea turtles waiting to be "processed."
Each was measured, weighed, photographed and tagged. Tissue samples
were taken from rear flippers for genetic research.
By January 6, 380 cold stunned turtles just about filled the tanks to
capacity. Twenty-three more were found by January 13.
"We recognized early that recovering, transporting and treating the
turtles was going to become an daunting task so we joined forces with
many agencies and individuals," Nancy said. The rapidly expanding response
team included NOAA Fisheries' Southeast Fisheries Science Center and
Pascagoula Lab, the Florida Marine Research Institute, and a range of
other federal, state and conservation organizations along with individual
efforts.
Allen Foley, Florida Marine Research Institute, draws blood sample
for genetics research.
The team collected as much data as possible from the turtles and then,
as soon as possible, released the healthy ones into the warmer waters
of the Gulf of Mexico. Working around the clock, team members worked
in groups to inspect the turtles for abnormalities and existing tags,
photographed and weighed them, attached flipper and pit tags, and extracted
blood and tissue samples for genetic identification.
Nancy Evou, NOAA Fisheries/Panama City, Florida and Ben Higgens,
NOAA Fisheries/Galveston, Texas scan all four flippers for pit tags
inserted previously to track turtle. Each turtle has a computerized
number.
Once they were put in tanks of warmer water, it didn't take long for
most of the turtles to recover. As groups appeared healthy enough to
be returned to the Gulf, they were removed from the tanks and coated
with petroleum jelly to prevent them from dehydrating during the two-hour
drive to the release site.
Before release back into Gulf, volunteers coat turtles with petroleum
jelly.
Only two turtles were reported washed up on beaches. Still in fairly
good condition, both were released after a week of treatment. Of the
403 cold stunned turtles found, 388 were greens, 10 were Kemp's ridleys,
and 5 were loggerheads. Thirty-four required long-term rehabilitation
and received care in a number of Florida facilities. Most of these turtles
have since recovered and are now back in the Gulf.
Safe, sound and going home!
Of the 61 turtles that died, scientists performed necropsies on 59 to
learn about gut content, age, growth patterns, sex, genetics, and possible
internal abnormalities. "While this event was most tragic, it provided
the scientific community with an excellent opportunity to acquire an
immense amount of data about Florida's sea turtles," Nancy said. "It
also demonstrated how quickly a caring and dedicated team of experts,
volunteers, and supporting institutions can be mobilized during an emergency.
Without this commitment to preserving the lives of these rare creatures,
few if any would have survived."
