Today the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) is urging British beach walkers to look out for stranded marine turtles after three of the endangered reptiles washed up on beaches in Wales and Scotland since the end of December. Strong south-westerly winds forecast for Scotland, Wales and the South West this week may bring in more turtles, which, if found alive, can be rescued and rehabilitated back to full health.

The strandings started when a juvenile loggerhead turtle washed up dead at Ardnave on the island of Islay on the 29th December. Shortly afterwards the second turtle, another dead juvenile loggerhead, was recovered by staff from the Islay and Jura Seal Sanctuary after it washed up near Ardbeg, Islay on New Year’s Day. The third turtle was a rare Kemp’s ridley turtle that washed up alive at Porth Ceiriad nr. Abersoch on the Lleyn Peninsula on the 3rd of January. This small juvenile turtle was recovered by the RSPCA and driven by Marine Environmental Monitoring to the Weymouth SeaLife Centre, where, sadly, it died a few days later.

“Each winter strong winds seem to blow stray juvenile turtles into our chilly seas. They can’t stand the cold weather, which shuts them down and they eventually wash up on our shores,” said Peter Richardson, MCS Species Policy Officer, “When they wash up they are so moribund that to the casual observer they may appear to be dead, but actually they may still be alive, and with expert care can be rescued and nurtured back to health to make a full recovery. Under no circumstances should these turtles be put back into the sea, as this will certainly kill them. With strong winds forecast this week we urge UK beach walkers to be vigilant and immediately report any turtles they encounter to the RSPCA.”  

Last year, staff at the Weymouth SeaLife Centre successfully rehabilitated two live stranded loggerheads and a Kemp’s ridley turtle. The loggerheads were eventually flown to Grand Canaria where they were released back into the Atlantic, but the Kemp’s ridley turtle is still at Weymouth and will be flown back to its native waters in the Gulf of Mexico later this year.

While the endangered loggerhead turtle is regularly reported in British seas, the Kemp’s ridley strandings are of particular interest as there are only 35 records of this species in UK and Irish waters. The Kemp’s ridley is the world’s rarest species of marine turtle, and is considered to be critically endangered. Latest estimates suggest that only a few thousand adult females still nest on only one stretch of beach on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, although the population now appears to be increasing as a result of long-term conservation efforts by the US and Mexican governments.
 
MCS is urging anyone who walks or works on UK beaches to look out for stranded turtles this winter and immediately report them to the RSPCA on 08705 555999 or to Marine Environmental Monitoring (MEM) on 01348 875000. Live turtles should not be put back in the sea, but placed in a dry, sheltered place until animal welfare experts can collect them for rehabilitation. Obviously dead stranded turtles should also be reported to MEM or online at www.mcsuk.org where information and photographs are available to help identification.

As well as working on marine turtles found in UK waters, MCS also carries out international marine turtle conservation work and raises funds to support conservation projects around the world through its Adopt a Turtle programme. For more information see www.mcsuk.org. Ends

For further information, and photographs of the turtles contact:
Peter Richardson, Species Policy Officer, Marine Conservation Society (MCS) Tel: 01989 566017, 07793 118383 E-mail: peter@mcsuk.org      www.mcsuk.org

The MCS Scottish Projects Officer post is funded by Scottish Natural Heritage and The Underwood Trust, and the MCS Welsh Projects Officer is funded by the Countryside Council for Wales.

Editor’s notes:
The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) is the UK charity dedicated to the protection of our seas, shores and wildlife.  MCS campaigns for clean seas and beaches, sustainable fisheries, protection of marine life and their habitats, and the sensitive use of our marine resources for future generations.  Through education, community involvement and collaboration, MCS raises awareness of the many threats that face our seas and promotes individual, industry and government action to protect the marine environment. MCS provides information and guidance on many aspects of marine conservation and produces the annual Good Beach Guide (www.goodbeachguide.co.uk), the Good Fish Guide and www.fishonline.org on sustainable seafood, as well as promoting public participation in volunteer projects and surveys such as Beachwatch, Adopt-a-Beach and Basking Shark Watch.www.mcsuk.org

Five species of marine turtle have been recorded in UK and Irish waters, including the leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) loggerhead (Caretta caretta), Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), green (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) turtles. Hawksbill, Kemp’s ridley and leatherback turtles are listed as critically endangered by the World Conservation Union (IUCN), while the green and loggerhead turtles are listed as endangered. Whereas leatherbacks migrate to British seas every summer to feed on jellyfish, the other species prefer warmer climates and occur here as weather blown strays (see www.mcsuk.org/marineworld/turtles).

MCS is a joint lead partner in the Grouped Species Action Plan for Marine Turtles in UK waters and the UK Overseas Territories (www.ukbap.org.uk). The Species Action Plan prioritises the conservation of leatherback turtles in UK waters and is implemented by a coalition of organisations, government agencies and academic institutions known as the Turtle Implementation Group (TIG). The TIG includes MCS, the Government conservation agencies, universities and other NGOs, as well as Marine Environmental Monitoring (MEM) who manage the TURTLE database of UK turtle sightings and strandings (see www.strandings.com).