Eighteen endangered sea turtles were returned to the ocean yesterday off Dowses Beach in Barnstable. Staff and volunteers from the New England Aquarium and the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine, began placing the turtles, who were rescued last fall off various Cape Cod beaches, on the sand at about 5:15 p.m., said Connie Merigo, director of the rescue department at the Aquarium.
Channel 5 was there with aerial footage of the release:
The Boston Channel.com
New England Marine Animal Rescue Blog:
"Yesterday was an extremely exciting day for the Rescue Team and our sea turtle patients! Six of our sea turtles (3 Kemp's ridley sea turtles and 3 green sea turtles) returned to the ocean on a beach on the south side of Cape Cod. We were joined by our sea turtle partners at Mass Audubon and the University of New England's Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center (UNE). UNE brought 12 of their own rehabilitated Kemp's ridley sea turtles making this one of our biggest release events."
CNN News: Heroes
August 28, 2010
"Aranda's conservation group, La Sociedad Ecológica del Occidente, is dedicated to protecting turtles that nest along Mexico's northwest Pacific beaches. From June through December -- prime nesting season -- Aranda and his unpaid volunteers watch over the shorelines where the turtles lay their eggs. Aranda's group, which is also known as Vallarta Rescue, is nonprofit and relies entirely on private donations. To earn a living, Aranda works during the day as an ecotourism boat driver. At sunset, he heads out to what he calls the perfect job in the perfect place. "We go out to the beach and we wait for the turtles to come," he said. "Sometimes we may see one, sometimes there are 13. It all depends. We might miss a turtle, and then we dig for the nest she left behind. We have to be there all night." "Twenty years ago, the Mexican government outlawed commercial fishing of sea turtles. It started fining people up to $16,000 for killing turtles or trafficking turtle eggs, turtle meat or products manufactured with turtle hides. But Mexico still has one of the highest rates of turtle poaching in the world. Since 2004, when he started his conservation group, Aranda has facilitated the rescue and release of more than half a million baby turtles. The turtles' determination to keep nesting despite natural and manmade threats inspires him to continue -- all night, every night." CNN News
CNN Sea Turtles iReportCNN Turtles
"Every single one of the world's sea turtle species is listed as either threatened or endangered. Four of the world's six endangered sea turtles species lay their eggs on El Salvador's beaches. The most common species in El Salvador is the Olive Ridley and Barra de Santiago is one of its few remaining major breeding sites. In El Salvador, FUNZEL (Zoological Foundation of El Salvador) leads the way in the conservation of turtles and other at risk species. Last year, FUNZEL recovered nearly 1,000,000 turtle eggs. I caught up with FUNZEL's VP, Rodrigo, to find out more about the organization's turtle conservation efforts and we even spotted a female Olive Ridley on the beach."
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