DUNEDIN, Fla. — After spending some time healing at Clearwater Marine Aquarium, three sea turtles made their way back home on Thursday.
CMA successfully released two critically endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles and one juvenile green sea turtle at Honeymoon Island State Park — marking a total of 28 rehabilitated sea turtle releases this year alone.
The turtles were all taken to the aquarium and rehab facility due to injuries from human interaction, rescuers wrote in a release.
Bryce Canyon, a juvenile Kemp’s ridley sea turtle named after the state park, was found severely entangled in fishing line and a buoy on Aug. 6 off of Madeira Beach. Luckily, CMA says the line did not severely injure the turtle's flippers, though it did have swelling and inflammation.
Yum Yum, another juvenile Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, was found on July 12 floating in a canal near Hudson. CMA says the turtle "has severe carapace deformities from a previous traumatic injury."
But, after a month at the aquarium, it was foraging well and showing no signs of buoyancy issues.
Carbonara is a juvenile green sea turtle who was accidentally captured in a fishing net on Feb. 19 off Clearwater Beach. Besides the "large fibropapilloma tumors on both eyes," CMA says Carbonara was in good condition. The turtle had all the tumors successfully removed before it was released.
All three turtles were cleared for release by CMA’s staff veterinarian and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Just last week, CMA released Tri, Brussels Sprout, Garlic, Moira Rose and Tzatziki, four green sea turtles and one Kemp's ridley sea turtle.
You can check on all the sea turtles currently rehabilitating at CMA on the aquarium's website.