June 21, 2023

Dear Kathy,

Happy 25! We celebrated our 25th nest on Topsail Island with a live stream this morning. It was a glorious day! As we continue to celebrate our 25th Anniversary, we'd like to invite you to our upcoming sea turtle release in North Topsail Beach! Eight beautiful sea turtles are going home next Wednesday. We hope you can join us, in person or online, as we release them back to the ocean.

WHO: Montana Ruby, Blue Lace Agate, Lepidolite, Pearl, Amethyst, Larimar, Sapphire, and Citrine

WHAT: Sea Turtle Release!

WHEN: Wednesday, June 21, 2023, 10:30 am

WHERE: Jeffries Beach Access (NTB #33), 215 New River Inlet Rd., North Topsail Beach

WHY: Because these eight sea turtles are fully rehabilitated and ready to return to their ocean home!

PLEASE BE ADVISED:

~ While there are large parking lots at Jeffries, we also expect a lot of people attending. To that end, and to be kind to the environment and Mother Ocean, we suggest you carpool, ride your bike, or walk if possible.

~ Public safety officials will be on hand to help. Please follow any instructions they may have.

~ Please stay off the dunes! The dunes protect our beach for the benefit of turtles and people alike!

~ This release is open to the public and we expect a large crowd. There is limited beach space. Please be patient and respectful! We will create a perimeter for the turtles, volunteers, and media. Kindly stay outside the perimeter tape. If you are close to the front, please sit so people behind you can see. Volunteers will be available to answer any questions you may have.

~ Please pick up all trash and dispose of it properly. Trash and Recycling bins are located nearby. Let's keep our beautiful beaches clean for turtles and people!

~ The release will be broadcast live on Facebook and Instagram so you can watch (or re-watch) later. If we are unable to connect live, which sometimes happens at big releases, then we will post videos after the release.

This group of shiny little jewels are all part of the same cold stun club! Each stranded on March 16 at Cape Lookout National Seashore. Each was rescued by Cape Lookout park rangers and taken to the NC State Center for Marine Science and Technology for veterinary evaluation. Each was admitted to the KBSTRRC Sea Turtle Hospital the next day, on March 17, and treated for cold stunning. And now, we are ready to scatter these beautiful jewels back to the sparkling blue sea!

MONTANA RUBY is a juvenile green sea turtle. In addition to being cold stunned, she had a few minor cracks along her carapace that are now healed. When she first arrived, Montana Ruby weighed a petite 2.0 kg (4.4 pounds). She has been a good, healthy eater and now weighs 3.1 kg (6.8 pounds)! Despite her name, she's returning to the ocean - not Montana! - and looks forward to exploring watery sea mounts and grazing in seagrass beds!

BLUE LACE AGATE is a juvenile green sea turtle. Upon admit, this little gem weighed in at 1.9 kg (4.2 pounds). With lots of fish, greens, and veggies, she now weighs a healthy 2.3 kg (5.1 pounds). Blue Lace Agate had some temporary buoyancy issues, but once we gave her more room to swim she quickly demonstrated she could easily rest on the bottom - when she wanted to! She will soon be able to explore the vastness of the ocean floor!

LEPIDOLITE is a juvenile Kemp's ridley sea turtle. When he arrived, he weighed 3.8 kg (8.4 pounds). He now weighs 5.5 kg (12.1 pounds). In addition to cold stunning, Lepidolite suffered from a wound underneath his right shoulder. We treated his wound with honey, which was applied topically for ten minutes daily. After two months, Lepidolite's wound was healed! He swims well, and loves to eat shrimp. We recently tested him with a live crab, and he proved himself to be excellent at catching and eating the crab. Soon, he'll be able to hunt all kinds of different crabs!

The following jewels each stranded on different dates.

PEARL is a juvenile green sea turtle that stranded April 2 at Caswell Beach. She was rescued by Caswell Beach Turtle Watch and brought to KBSTRRC. We treated Pearl for debilitated turtle syndrome as well as an injury on and below her right shoulder. Debilitated turtle syndrome is a non-specific diagnosis for turtles coming in dehydrated, malnourished, and covered in epibiota. We applied a daily honey dressing to Pearl's injury, and it is now fully healed! Covered with barnacles and algae, Pearl weighed 3.2 kg (7.0 pounds) on arrival; she now weighs 3.7 kg (8.2 pounds) and has filled out nicely. She is free of all epibiota and ready to shine in the wild!

AMETHYST is a juvenile green sea turtle that stranded April 10 at Fort Fisher State Park. She was rescued by park rangers and brought to KBSTRRC for treatment. Like Pearl, Amethyst also suffered from debilitated turtle syndrome and was covered in algae and barnacles. She also had an injury on her right front flipper. This jewel weighed 4.1 kg (9.0 pounds) when she first came in covered in epibiota. She is now 4.3 kg (9.5 pounds) and has filled out nicely. She is a lively turtle and will sparkle back out in the ocean!

LARIMAR is a juvenile green turtle that stranded April 11 at Carolina Beach. She was rescued by the Pleasure Island Sea Turtle Beach Watch and brought to KBSTRRC. Larimar was the victim of a spring cold snap and came in cold stunned at 10.6 degrees Celsius (51.1 degrees F). Brrrr!! She was also covered in barnacles and epibiota. Upon stranding, Larimar weighed 2.6 kg (5.7 pounds). She now weighs a healthy 3.2 kg (7.1 pounds). As a gemstone, Larimar promotes tranquility, calmness, and harmony. As a turtle, Larimar is looking forward to becoming harmonious back with the ocean!

SAPPHIRE is a juvenile green turtle that stranded April 18 at Oak Island. She was rescued by Oak Island Sea Turtle Protection Program and brought to KBSTRRC. Sapphire was treated for debilitated turtle syndrome. She had intermittent buoyancy issues which have resolved. We recently moved her out to a large tank in Turtle Bay, and she loves exploring the bigger water! We can't wait to see her head out to explore the big blue sea!

Late Breaking News!

CITRINE is a juvenile Kemp's ridley sea turtle that accidentally became entangled with a hook. She stranded just this afternoon, June 16, in Surf City. Thankfully, we were able to remove the hook safely from her flipper. Her blood work indicated she was otherwise healthy, and x-rays showed no additional internal hooks. It'll be a quick turnaround for this little one as she joins the group next Wednesday. Hopefully from now on, she'll stay away from easy meals that look too good to be true!

We are grateful to the kind anglers and pier staff who call us when a turtle becomes accidentally caught on their line. Because of their caring, we can take quick action to remove the hook safely, check for additional hooks, and in most cases release them quickly back to the wild!

This conservation work for protected sea turtles at KBSTRRC is authorized by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, ES Permit 23ST05.