While sea turtle nests documented on the east coast of Florida were up overall according to reports, Clearwater Marine Aquarium saw a decrease in turtle nests this year.
After receiving rehabilitation for several weeks at Clearwater Marine Aquarium, three sea turtles have been successfully released this week, following the release of another turtle earlier this month.
On October 11, Clearwater Marine Aquarium returned a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle to its home after a successful rehabilitation. Rye was found on September 22 in the Spring Hill area and was accidentally caught by a fisherman and ingested a large fish hook.
Today, Clearwater Marine Aquarium was able to return a juvenile green sea turtle back to its home after a successful rehabilitation. Monkey Bread was found August 4 floating offshore New Port Richey.
On August 15, University of Florida Marine Animal Rescue released Injera back to the big blue! The hook was successfully removed orally without the need for surgery by Clearwater Marine Aquarium’s staff veterinarian!
This female loggerhead sea turtle was found floating offshore near Fort De Soto in May and was rescued by the Coast Guard. Dhebra was found floating, lethargic, and with a thin body condition. In our care, she has gained 20 pounds. Dhebra recovered quickly and was cleared for release by our veterinarian and Florida Fish and Wildlife and returned home!
On Thursday, July 20, Clearwater Marine Aquarium released a Kemp ridley’s sea turtle,Focaccia, back into the wild in Clearwater after almost a month of rehabilitation.
Focaccia is a subadult Kemp’s ridley who was found struggling in the water near Sand Key on June 20. Focaccia’s behaviors during their first swim test showed uncoordinated swimming that was similar to our previous red tide exposed kemp’s ridleys: Chandler, Howie, and Alexis Rose in 2021.