Cold-stunned sea turtles from St. Augustine area recovering at Apollo Beach rehab center
APOLLO BEACH, Fla. - A dozen sea turtles from the St. Augustine area arrived at The Florida Aquarium Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center in Apollo Beach on Friday after suffering from being cold-stunned following the recent chilly weather this month.
Florida Fish and Wildlife dropped off the 12 cold-stunned sea turtles right into the hands of biologists like Ashley Riese.
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"When we get cold snaps like this they definitely do get impacted. And you’ll start seeing these animals washing ashore," said Riese, the director of the sea turtle conservation program at The Florida Aquarium.
READ: Sea turtle nesting season cut short in Pinellas County after Hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton
The sea turtles were covered in algae, sand and barnacles. The latest group came from the Whitney Laboratory of Marine Bioscience in St. Augustine, and workers tagged and wheeled them up to the examination room for antibiotics and a checkup.

"When these guys become cold-stunned or have low body temperatures, that immune system is starting to shut down and now when you do the reverse process you have to do it slow. You have to do it controlled," said Riese.
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They warm them up in 10-degree increments in pools, taking their body temps from 40 degrees when they first come in to around their normal 75 degrees. Six sea turtles arrived on Thursday and received exams, joining the 11 sea turtles rehab center workers recently took in from the New England area. They have green sea turtles, Kemps Ridley sea turtles and loggerhead sea turtles in their care.
"Last year, we had 59 turtles that went through in the whole year. But right now, we’re getting close to that in the last week or two," said Dr. Debborah Luke, the senior vice president of conservation at The Florida Aquarium.
MORE: World's rarest sea turtle species setting new records in Florida during 2024 nesting season
By the numbers:
Luke said 29 sea turtles from around Florida and New England are in their care so far, and it can cost $15,000 per turtle.
"I’ve been asked the question, ‘Why should we pay $15,000 for one turtle? What’s the point of that?’" said Luke. "And the point is, think about human health. An ambulance ride, the hospitalization costs you’re going to incur from one night at the hospital, maybe you have to have surgery, everything that goes into that. $15,000 is a drop in the bucket for a species that’s critically endangered."

And they expect more turtles to need their help.
What you can do:
"We have our friends at Clearwater Marine and Mote Marine that have been impacted by the hurricanes, and they’re trying to get their sea turtle rehabilitations back up and running," said Luke. "We’re really the only one in southwest Florida right now that can take turtles."
So, they hope the public will help them with donations to take on these winter challenges.
READ: Manatee rescued from cold waters in St. Pete recovering at ZooTampa
"We need to be protecting these endangered species so the ecosystem stays in check, so that we are in a healthy place where it helps us humans to thrive," Luke said.
The Florida Aquarium said this is an unprecedented year handed to cold-stunned sea turtles, and they will need the community’s support. The FWC said it is already looking to get another 30 sea turtles over to the West Coast on Saturday, and they will determine which facilities they go to at that time.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13's Briona Arradondo through interviews with officials from The Florida Aquarium.
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