4 Rescued Sea Turtles, Named After The Beatles, Released On LI

HAMPTON BAYS, NY — The New York Marine Rescue Center in Riverhead hosted its first sea turtle release at Tiana Beach in Hampton Bays last week: The four cold-stunned loggerhead sea turtles were named after the Beatles.

The cold-stunned sea turtles were stranded on December 18, 2020 in Massachusetts and transferred to NYMRC on December 2 via plane by Turtles Fly Too, NYMRC said.

The transfer was one of three that NYMRC was involved in during the 2020 cold stun season. In total, NYMRC admitted 29 sea turtles from Massachusetts — the largest transfer NYMRC has received to date, the organization said on Facebook.

In addition, NYMRC responded to 49 sea turtles that stranded throughout Long Island between November and January, the group said.

Cold stunning, NYMRC said, is similar to hypothermia and occurs when sea turtles are unable to migrate to warmer water before local water temperatures drop drastically and sea turtles become "lethargic and listless" at the surface. Turtles in Massachusetts are recovered by trained patrollers from Mass Audubon and then transferred to either New England Aquarium or National Marine Life Center for triage, NYMRC said. Once they are stable, they can then be relocated to long-term rehabilitation facilities like NYMRC. In New York, NYMRC recovers sea turtles along north-facing beaches throughout Long Island, and then animals are transported back to NYMRC for immediate care.

"Many of these turtles were able to be released quickly and were flown down south for an earlier release. However, 25 sea turtles remained at NYMRC for long-term rehabilitation and all are getting closer to being released," the organization said on social media.

The survival of the sea turtles is dependent on how quickly the animals are recovered and brought to NYMRC.

"Prolonged exposure to harsh winds and declining temperatures can be fatal," NYMRC said. "Since 2017, NYMRC has continued to grow its citizen science patroling program in an effort to increase survival of sea turtles for New York."

All release candidates receive a final physical and are provided both flipper tags and personal identification tags, "critical as they allow future identification if the individual was re-sighted," NYMRC said.

On Monday, NYMRC hosted an additional release of seven sea turtles at Tiana Beach.