JEKYLL ISLAND, Ga. – Staff members with the Georgia Sea Turtle Center and other agencies released 34 rehabilitated sea turtles Wednesday on Jekyll Island in Georgia.
Staff members from six agencies carried one green sea turtle and 33 Kemp’s ridley sea turtles into the ocean. All of those turtles spent around five months at the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, Mystic Aquarium, New England Aquarium, and New York Marine Rescue Center where they underwent care for hypothermia-related conditions, according to a spokesperson.
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The sea turtles had experienced what’s called cold-stunning, which is an annual phenomenon that happens in the Northeast when water and air temperatures gradually drop late in the year, officials said.
“It was so rewarding to have this group of sea turtles released on Jekyll Island after being nursed back to health by the New England Aquarium and our partner organizations. These turtles that stranded late last year have certainly received wonderful care and are fully recovered as we send them back home,” said Adam Kennedy, director of rescue and rehabilitation at the New England Aquarium.
According to a spokesperson, this release was Georgia’s largest sea turtle release on record.
Volunteer pilots from the nonprofit organization Turtles Fly Too flew the turtles from Massachusetts and New York.
“This event is a great example of how the sum of working together has a greater impact than working individually. Thank you to Turtles Fly Too and our network partners for their continued support in making these transports possible,” said Robert A. DiGiovanni, Jr., executive director and chief scientist of the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society.