Mote Marine Lab Releases Endangered Turtle

In Sarasota, bright and early at 10 AM, a group of about thirty people - including myself - were witness to what could be called a "once in a lifetime" opportunity. Tuck, a juvenile green turtle, was released to a proper home and habitat after six weeks of rehabilitation. The event was popular, with representatives from Mote Marine Lab, news channels ten and thirteen, interested bystanders and some members of New College present at the release.

The event was sponsored and held by Mote's Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Hospital, and took place on the end of Whitfield Avenue, at one of many beach sites to Sarasota Bay. The sea turtle, Tuck, was accidentally caught by fisherman along the eastern bay edge on December 27, 2007. Tony Tucker, the manager of Mote's Sea Turtle Conservation and Research program was kayaking along the bay when he heard the noise and paddled over to see what was wrong.

After helping to untangle the sea turtle, Tony realized that the turtle was having difficulty diving, and decided to bring it back to Mote to receive treatment. The turtle was found to be suffering from aspiration pneumonia, a condition thought to arise from when the turtle inhaled sea water during his capture. Six weeks later, Tuck was rehabilitated and released this morning.

Tuck is no longer the usual endangered sea turtle. Attached to his back with blue putty is a satellite tracking device. Dr. Tucker and the marine lab hope to use this tracking device to learn more about the habits of juvenile green sea turtles - especially since they are uncommon in the Sarasota Bay area. This will be the first turtle tracked in the Sarasota Bay National Estuary.

The special satellite tracking device is run by three small batteries, and checks itself every twenty seconds to see if the area is dry (above the surface) or wet (below the surface). If the metal area is dry, the tracking device sends a signal to the satellite.

People interested in watching the turtle's progress can do so on www.seaturtle.org, and navigating to the Mote Marine Lab area. Mote is currently tracking another turtle as well, King, who was found floating in the water near Casey Key in 2006. After many months in rehab, King made his way out of his near-comatose state to a full recovery. King, since his release, has traveled around the tip of Florida, up into Georgia and is making his way back down the eastern Florida coast now. Donations can be made to seaturtle.org or Mote Marine laboratory to offset the costs of satellite tracking and turtle rehabilitation.