Gino Fanelli

gfanelli@dmg.gannett.com

As the rain drizzled down upon the Assateague Island National Seashore, the soft patter of fins against the beach could be heard among the cheering crowd and blowing wind.

Slowly, the 10 Kemp's Ridley sea turtles made their way toward the waterline, the soft roll of the surf beckoning them ever closer to home. Inevitably, as the last turtle straggled along, their shells could be made out as subtle shadows in water, before disappearing below the waves.

June 16 is National Sea Turtle Day, a day meant to celebrate sea turtles and place a focus on awareness of their conservation. Coinciding with this is the 25th anniversary of the National Aquarium in Baltimore's Animal Rescue Program. In total, 12 turtles, harmed by stranding on East Coast shorelines, were released — the 10 Kemp's Ridleys came from the Pittsburgh Zoo's & PPG Aquarium and National Marine Life Center animal rescue programs, and the two juvenile Green sea turtles, "Hardhead" and "Beachcomber," were rehabilitated in Baltimore.

READ MORE:Turtle power: Rehabbed reptiles race back to the sea

"When a turtle becomes stranded, they're vulnerable to a lot of different dangers," National Aquarium animal rescue stranding coordinator Amber White said. "There's a kind of hypothermia that can happen if they get too cold, as well as different infections."

These factors were at play in the cases of both Hardhead and Beachcomber. Hardhead, found on the Delaware shoreline and brought to the aquarium in November, had a body temperature of 59 degrees when found, as well as a torn lung and broken ribs, the aquarium speculates was caused by a boat collision. These injuries left him unable to swim. He was placed under observation until he had made a full recovery.

Beachcomber, found off the Cape Cod in November, had a rare blood infection that led to damaged kidneys. He was placed on a treatment of intravenous antibiotics until he had made a full recovery.

White also noted that one of the biggest threats to sea turtles is human intervention.

"Boats are a big threat, whether it's by collision or propellers," White said. "But there's also fishermen, whose lines can hook the turtles or nets can trap them. And pollution, like plastics, can have really negative effects on the turtles."

Steps taken for perserving

While all sea turtle species are endangered, including the Kemp's Ridley, Green sea turtles, Loggerheads and Leatherbacks — the largest sea turtle in the world, growing up to 2,000 pounds — that call the Delmarva coastline home, adults have few, if any, natural predators. However, the global fishing industry, as well as pollution and hunting have devastated turtle populations in the past century.

Long-line fishing, a type of commercial fishing which uses hundreds or thousands of baited hooks to catch fish, also hold the downside of attracting turtles, which can drown from getting snagged on the lines, or swallow the hooks, which can lead to a prolonged death from internal bleeding. In a report from the Sea Turtle Conservancy, it's estimated that 250,000 Loggerheads and 60,000 Leatherbacks are snagged every year on long-lines globally. The United States has put stipulations on long-line fishing, requiring fishermen to use the safer circle hooks on the lines, which is estimated to reduce encounters between 65 and 90 percent. However, of the 12 other countries surveyed, the United States only comprised two percent of total long-lines, and most other countries have yet to adopt these policies.

All told, factoring trawl fishing, an estimated 250,000 sea turtles are trapped, injured or killed every year by U.S. fishermen, according to the Sea Turtle Conservancy. In Maryland, which has a fishing industry valued at $600 million annually, according to the State of Maryland, sea turtles are protected by the Endangered Species Act of 1973, which requires all commercial fishing vessels to have proper turtle safety features, and additionally, any shrimp or other trawl-fished seafood imported into the U.S. is illegal if the origin country does not have turtle protection laws.

While fishing is a problem which the U.S. has taken great strides to curb the damaging sea turtle effects of, pollution is a problem which is more difficult to regulate, and has a comparably devastating effect.

"Turtles can get trapped in plastic bags, or swallow plastics that can cause great internal damage," White said.

Turtles lack the ability to regurgitate, and thus, swallowing a bit of plastic can be a death sentence, via internal organ damage. Additionally, trapped plastic inside of turtles can cause a buildup of gas, which can cause them to float to the surface and lose the ability to swim, which can lead to starvation or vulnerability to sharks.

White commented that the conservation effort can start with small, simple actions.

"There are a lot of conservation efforts that we're (the National Aquarium) involved in that we always need volunteers for, but people can take action at home," White said. "We suggest starting with using reusable bags and bottles, and recycling. Those little actions can have a big impact."

As these sea turtles begin their journey, there is a sign of hope for these creatures, once thought to be going the way of the Dodo or mammoth. In a report from the Center for Biological Diversity, Green sea turtles were found to have populations numbers on a steady rise in American waters since the inaction of the Endangered Species Act. While on a global level, large fishing nations, particularly southeast nations like Japan continue to fight for the right to hunt sea turtles and marine mammals, at home, the conservation efforts are proving to be effective.

And that means, for Hardhead and Beachcomber, the future is looking bright.

gfanelli@dmg.gannett.com