Endangered Turtle Saved By Martin County First Responders

Photo by Martin County Sheriff’s Office | Facebook

How many people does it take to free a turtle who got herself wedged between some rocks? Apparently, it takes at least six, according to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO).
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It took three officers, the Martin County Fire Rescue, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Committee (FWC), and several concerned Martin County citizens to free a female loggerhead sea turtle who was found lodged among the rocks between the Gilbert’s Bar House of Refuge and Santa Lucia Beach. ​

Photo by Martin County Sheriff’s Office | Facebook

The MCSO’s report says that this turtle had come ashore to lay her eggs then got stuck in “a narrow path along the rocks” on her way back out to sea. She required a full-scale operation involving MCSO Sergeant Brian Tison, Deputy Jose Garcia, Deputy Andrew Palmese, firefighters, and officers of the FWC to get her freed.

Although she was weakened by her unsuccessful struggle to escape the rocks by herself, she “was safely released back into the water without further incident”. 

While this may seem like a lot to go through for one turtle, loggerhead sea turtles are actually an endangered or threatened species across different parts of the world.

​The National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) states that loggerheads are endangered in the Mediterranean Sea and North Pacific, Northeast Atlantic, North Indian, and South Pacific Oceans' distinct population segments (DPS) and threatened in the Northwest Atlantic, South Atlantic, Southeast Indo-Pacific, and Southwest Indian Oceans' DPS. 

In other words, loggerheads are a threatened species in Florida. As a matter of fact, according to the FWC, loggerheads are “native”, “imperiled”, and a “federally-designated threatened” species. The beaches of Florida also “host one of the largest loggerhead nesting aggregations in the world”.

Female loggerheads, like the one who got stuck in Martin County, typically return to their nesting beach as frequently as once every two years, lay around four to seven nests about 14 days apart, and lay an average of 100 to 126 eggs per nest, adding up to between 400 and 882 eggs in total. These eggs will incubate for approximately 60 days each before the hatchlings make their way to the open ocean, where they usually spend the first seven to 15 years of their lives. 

After that, they tend to migrate towards coastal regions, where they will continue to grow until they reach maturity at around 20 to 35 years old. At maturity, loggerheads will migrate back towards the beaches they hatched from in order to mate and nest. They will normally stay close to this area for the remaining half of their lives, as their lifespan is approximately 70 to 80 years.

In addition, while they will occasionally consume plants during their lifetime, loggerheads are carnivorous reptiles who more often prefer jellyfish, crabs, and other mollusks that are easily crushed with their tough jaws. Unfortunately, human debris, plastic fragments, garbage, and other pollutants often tend to find their way into loggerheads’ habitat, which they commonly mistake for food as well.  

Oceanic pollution and marine debris is currently an increasing threat to all sea turtles. Not only do the turtles accidentally end up ingesting these things, but they also find themselves entangled in them too often. 

Other current threats to all sea turtles include becoming a bycatch in fishing gear, nesting habitat loss and degradation largely due to artificial lighting and more seawalls being built, climate change, being harvested for their meat and eggs, and getting struck by vessels.

If you want to help endangered, threatened, and least-concern species of sea turtles alike, NOAA suggests that you can start by doing the following:

Reducing Ocean Trash: 
-Responsibly disposing of garbage
-Refraining from releasing balloons
-Using less plastic

Keeping Your Distance from the Turtles: 
-Observing nesting turtles from afar
-Never feeding or attempting to touch them
-Watching out for them and avoiding them when enjoying watersports and boating

Protecting the Turtles’ Habitat:
-Turning off lights visible from the beach that may misdirect hatchlings
-Taking recreational equipment like umbrellas and chairs off of the beach
-Filling in holes
-Knocking down sandcastles
-Not driving on sea turtle nesting beaches

Reporting Marine Life in Distress:
-Calling a professional responder if you see a stranded, entangled, or otherwise injured sea turtle

There are about 23 different organizations throughout Florida that can be contacted if you see a sea turtle that needs help. For a complete list, visit the NOAA website here. If there is any doubt on which one to contact, then you can always start with the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at (888) 404-3922.

Article by Ema Tibbetts​