Caught on fishing hooks, five rescued sea turtles are returned to Gulf of Mexico

They were just looking for a bite to eat when they accidentally got hooked. Now five endangered sea turtles, inadvertently caught by fishermen off local fishing piers, have been rehabilitated and are back in the Gulf of Mexico looking for their next meal.

The animals, a mix of green and loggerhead sea turtles ranging in age from juveniles to adults, had a large crowd cheering them on as they were returned to the Gulf Wednesday morning on Perdido Key.

After spending the last two weeks at the Gulfarium’s C.A.R.E. Center in Fort Walton Beach, rescuers felt they were ready to return to the sea. They cleared a path to the shoreline and dozens of onlookers lined up along the ropes protecting their path to watch them crawl or be carried to the sea.

Jolyne Grant brought three of her young sons to watch the release. Now that school testing is over, she wanted her 7-year-old son, who especially loves turtles, to enjoy a unique learning experience at the beach instead of in class.

“It's amazing,” Grant said. “You see the turtles at aquariums but seeing it in real life is just amazing.”

As each animal was released, a mic’d member of the C.A.R.E. team explained to the crowd what kind of sea turtle it was, what happened to it, and why conservation is important.

“I loved it,” Grant’s son Jude added. “I love that I got to see a real-life sea turtle for my first time. It looked really cool. It had barnacles on it. One of them did.”

The one with barnacles has been down this sandy path before. The older sea turtle is familiar to Gulfarium rescuers who say it has been accidentally hooked by fishermen twice and even lost a flipper to injury.

“Most of the turtles that we get into the care center are hooked off fishing piers,” said Gulfarium Marketing Manager Megan Trainor. “Pensacola Beach fishing pier, Navarre Beach fishing pier, Okaloosa Island Beach fishing pier, so the biggest thing is just being mindful of what's in the water below you. If you see turtles, pull your lure up out of the water, and wait for the turtle to pass. If you do hook a turtle, don't cut your line, and immediately call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission or the Gulfarium C.A.R.E. Center stranding line, and we will respond immediately.”

This year, the Gulfarium C.A.R.E. Center is launching its own stranding team to respond to calls on Okaloosa Island. They already have teams that respond to sea turtle emergencies on Pensacola and Navarre beaches.

Sea turtles are an endangered species, some critically, and rescuers say the more people help them the better their chances for survival. That includes taking precautions while fishing and not cutting lines if you do hook one, as well as being mindful of turtle nesting season.

Related: Escambia County staff, volunteers dedicate thousands of hours to protecting sea turtles

Trainor said it’s important to keep beaches clean, dark and flat at night, as well as filling in holes and using only red lights. Both Perdido Key and Pensacola Beach have ordinances that require special lighting and other precautions to protect sea turtles.

The C.A.R.E Center team said they’re taking in more turtles each year and even broke a record last year, treating and releasing more than 130 sea turtles.

Jessica and Ryan Pervis came from Foley, Alabama, to relax and enjoy the beach at Perdido Key when they happened on the release and were delighted to see the turtles return to the Gulf.

“This was spontaneous. They're one of my favorite animals, and I've never seen one before either,” Jessica Pervis said. “I can't believe God gave us this opportunity. That was just really special.”

Like others who watched the turtles disappear into the waves, they are thankful the nonprofit organization is helping the endangered animals.

“I'm just happy that they're doing this,” Ryan Pervis said. “The C.A.R.E. Center seems like a great thing. We're going to look more into it when we get home. Possibly volunteer and get involved.”

You can visit the Gulfarium C.A.R.E. Center’s website if you’d like to learn more about sea turtles and their work with coastal conservation.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Perdido Key beachgoers watch five rescued sea turtles return to gulf