Ponce Inlet, FL - It’s been a busy year for sea turtles in Volusia County and that’s not just a reference to the nesting season.
The sea turtle hospital at the Marine Science Center in Ponce Inlet has already treated more patients at this point in the year than they do in a normal year.
MSC Turtle Rehab Manager Melissa Ranly says 105 sea turtles have come through the hospital’s doors so far this year, just above the 75 to 100 that the turtle hospital normally averages per year.
Ranly says that the a number of patients coming in have been steady and that there hasn’t been one specific reason for the numbers going up. Some of it had to do with last year’s winter being colder than normal while other turtles were injured by things like boat propellers, fishing lines, and fishing hooks.
Some turtles were just sick for a long time and weren’t discovered until they washed ashore, according to Ranly. Once such turtle – a green named Bentley – was released from MSC last week after a 5-month stay.
666 nests have been counted on Volusia’s shoreline to date since the season informally started on May 1st. That number is the 3rd highest on record in Volusia, trailing only the 677 found in 2013 and the 919 discovered in 2012.
Volusia averages between 400 and 500 sea turtle nests a year.
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