Turtle hospitals and aquariums across the country are caring for sea turtles that stranded on beaches during the winter season, which is now coming to a close amid an uptick in strandings along Florida’s east coast.
Along the beaches of Central Florida’s east coast, the 142 turtle strandings through mid-March were about triple the five- and ten-year averages in Brevard County, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. State data also showed a less pronounced increase in strandings.
Turtle strandings have increased elsewhere in recent years too. A “stranded” sea turtle is one that is found dead, sick or injured.
In Massachusetts in 2019-2023, turtle strandings tripled compared to the four years between 2009-2013. Strandings also are increasing along Canada’s Atlantic Coast.
Scientists aren’t sure exactly why the events are increasing, but say it’s likely attributed to a variety of factors, including increases in turtle populations, changing climate conditions and water temperatures, as well as human-related factors, such as injuries related to vessel strikes and entanglement in marine debris.
January cold plunge stuns turtles
Much chillier-than-normal temperatures along the East Coast in January didn’t help matters. Out of 95 years of records, January was the 25th coolest overall, according to NOAA data.
“When cold fronts push off the US east coast, the water cools too,” said Brian McNoldy, a senior research scientist at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School. “And there have been a few strong fronts lately.”
Sea turtles can become cold-stunned and lethargic when temperatures fall below 50 degrees. Cold-blooded, they can’t regulate their body temperatures like mammals and birds.
If it becomes difficult for turtles to swim, they may be washed ashore by winds and tides, or even drown. The longer the water stays cold, the more it can affect a turtle’s circulation, organ function and immune system.
In January, air temperatures along the Georgia and Florida coasts were among the lowest third in history, according to climate data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Similar colder-than-normal temperatures were seen in the Northeast and the Southeast.
By late March, the average temperature for the three month climatological winter had flipped and was 91st warmest out of the 95 years of data. Sea surface temperature maps however continue to show a ribbon of cooler-than-normal water temperatures along the coast.
This satellite image illustrates how nearshore sea surface temperatures were cooler than normal along the East Coast in early March.
Florida strandings up
In Florida, sea turtle strandings began spiking in mid-February. By late in the month, the turtle strandings were up 65% over the 10-year average for the same time period. The most recent cumulative number of stranded turtles had dropped to about 43% of the 10-year average.
Most of the stranded turtles on the northeast Florida coat have been juvenile green turtles, which frequent shallow coastal regions of northeast Florida, where they feed on algae, Andrea M. Wasilew, with NOAA Fisheries Public Affairs, stated in an email.
“Green turtles in the southeast US are a conservation success story,” Wasilew said. Record breaking green turtle nesting in Florida means more juvenile turtles in the nearshore and inshore waters of the southeastern US states.
“It is not uncommon to have increased numbers of stranded sea turtles along the northeast coast of Florida in the late winter and early spring months,” Wasilew said.
One theory offered for lethargic or dead turtles washing up is that they may be in the wrong place at the wrong time to find food.
“The temperature of these waters during the winter is at the edge of that which can be tolerated by green turtles,” Allen Foley, a biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission said. “This is an unusual spike for Brevard County but not for northeast Florida,” Foley said via email.
The strandings are more typical in the two counties immediately north of Brevard County, Foley said.
By late winter or early spring, green turtles have been in cold water for a prolonged time, which can cause some to strand, he said. FWC has been collaborating with a veterinary pathologist with NOAA to investigate the cause of the turtle strandings.
“These turtles typically have no significant injuries or any indications of an infectious disease, and do not seem to be associated with any harmful algal blooms,” Foley added.
Niolo, a rescued green sea turtle, gets treated at the Marine Science Center turtle hospital in Ponce Inlet, Florida, on Oct. 1, 2024.
Strandings in the Northeast
In New England, where four species of sea turtles spend the summer, NOAA scientists say the hook shape of Cape Cod Bay can trap turtles for weeks to months after the water starts to cool. That puts the turtles – whose body temperatures mirror surrounding waters – at greater risk. They stop feeding, their body systems slow down and their immune systems become depressed.
Sea turtle stranding networks along the coasts collect the stranded turtles and deliver them to sea turtle hospitals and aquariums certified to take care of the animals.
At the New England Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital in Quincy, Massachusetts, dozens of turtles are being treated for complex medical conditions. This season, the turtles in long-term care were given names based on Greek mythology. Their patients include “Aphrodite,” “Hercules” and “Pegasus.”
The Clearwater Marine Aquarium recently released turtles that had been rescued earlier in the winter along Cape Cod beaches, including turtles transferred from the New England Aquarium.
Senate considers support for stranded turtles
Last week, the U.S. Senate Commerce Science and Transportation committee passed a bill designed to establish funding for the rescue, recovery and research of sea turtles in Massachusetts and around the United States, according to a news release from Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Massachusetts) who serves on the committee.
The bill would create a new grant program to contribute $5 million a year to the rescue and recovery of sea turtles and a turtle research fund.
In 2000, fewer than 50 sea turtles were found stranded on the beaches of Cape Cod; by 2022, that number had skyrocketed to 866, Markey’s office stated. During a 2021 cold snap in Texas, more than 12,100 turtles were cold-stunned.
“Sea turtles along our coasts are increasingly stranded and face extinction,” Markey stated. “The new grant program would provide a much-needed lifeline to both the rescuers and endangered sea turtles.”
The legislation is co-sponsored by Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland), Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Tom Tillis (R-North Carolina). Massachusetts Rep. Bill Keating has introduced a companion bill in the House.
Contributing: Jim Waymer, Florida Today/USA TODAY Network; Mary Helen Moore, The Daytona Beach News-Journal
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sea turtle strandings spike in Florida: What’s going on?
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