Six Green Sea Turtles rehabilitated and released in Ponce Inlet

On Ponce Inlet Beach, staff and volunteers from the Marine Science Center stood flanked on both sides by nearly one hundred beachgoers. However, those beachgoers weren’t there for the sunshine. The mix of locals and tourists were there to see seven animals released back into the wild after spending weeks, or even months, in rehabilitative care at the Marine Science Center’s veterinary hospitals. Six Green Sea Turtles and one Brown Pelican were officially discharged, some of whom had been in veterinary care since April. The pelican had suffered entanglement injuries from fishing line, as did some of the turtles. Others had infected wounds, were stuck with fishhooks, or had come down with illness. The Marine Science Center says many of these injuries are common and most are caused by human activity. The Center has cared for about 243 sea turtles this year alone, not counting nearly 250 hatchlings that were washed back to shore throughout the nesting season. Since their founding in 2002,