Featured Image Credit: http://www.turtlehospital.org/
By Kira Krall
Kenny and Hadley Rentas in Branford, Connecticut were pulling up their lobster traps when they saw a loggerhead sea turtle floating at the surface. Concerned that it was injured, the brothers pulled the reptile aboard before realizing it was dead. They reported the turtle and Mystic Aquarium came to the nearby yacht club to retrieve the carcass.
After the Rentas brothers hauled the dead reptile aboard, they noticed the large crack in its shell. There’s usually one culprit in the shell crack caper: boat strikes. Sea turtles only spend a few seconds breathing at the surface, but unfortunately, those unlucky moments could be their last. Being hard to see and slow moving can put them directly in the path of a speedy vessel. Boat strikes are especially common during nesting season when thousands of turtles come near shore to breed and lay eggs.
According to the Sea Turtle Stranding Network in Florida, boat strikes have tripled in the past 40 years. In 2016, 5 dead sea turtles were found on Sanibel Island, Florida, in as many weeks. A study out of Duke University correlated this increase in sea turtle collisions with the rapid increase in Florida boat registrations.
Thankfully, turtle rehabilitation facilities are equipped to treat boat strikes if they’re reported quickly enough. If you are ever boating and strike an animal or see an animal in trouble, it’s best to report it immediately! The sooner responders arrive to the scene, the better chance the animal has at survival.