Sea Turtles in Trouble
Pictured Above: A sea turtle rescued by the New York Marine Rescue Center. |. NYMRC Photo via Facebook
As of Dec. 30, 2022, the New York Marine Rescue Center in Riverhead had responded to and treated more than 90 cold stunned sea turtles that have stranded due to cold stunning on Long Island beaches, making this one of their busiest yet.
The Center has also helped with the rehabilitation of 11 transports from their partners at the New England Aquarium in Massachusetts. The turtles were flown to New York by pilots at Turtles Fly Too and NOAA Fisheries New England/Mid-Atlantic.
Historically, 2019 had previously been NYMRC’s largest cold stun season, with 85 turtles.
Many of this year’s stranded turtles are still coming in alive, highlighting the importance of citizen beach patrollers’ efforts to help turtles they find on The East End’s beaches. The Rescue Center’s Citizen Science Patrollers had found 23 turtles as of the third week in December.
The New York Marine Rescue Center is not the only organization in the North Atlantic that has had a crazy season — Mass Audubon, New England Aquarium, and National Marine Life Center have rescued and rehabbed hundreds of sea turtles.
If you are out walking the beaches and find a sea turtle, call the Rescue Center’s hotline at 631.369.9829. Fore more information, visit their website.
