Sea Turtle Beach Patrol
Summary
Location
Location details will be provided upon confirmation.
When
About This Opportunity
As temperatures start to drop across Atlantic Canada, danger increases for the juvenile endangered sea turtles still in our region. Sometimes these young turtles find themselves in water that is too cold for them. They become “cold stunned”—dangerously lethargic or sometimes hypothermic—when there is a sudden change in water temperature, like when the warm water current they were swimming in unexpectedly breaks apart. These sea turtles are then vulnerable to being thrown up on our shores by strong winds and tides. If they are lucky, these cold-stunned turtles are found alive and can be rehabilitated under the careful eye of a trained veterinarian.
The Canadian Sea Turtle Network (CSTN) is recruiting volunteer members of the public with access to beaches along the coastlines of the Maritime provinces, and especially those along the Bay of Fundy, to join the Sea Turtle Beach Patrol. Volunteers walk a beach of their choosing ideally after high tide and strong onshore winds.
The Sea Turtle Beach Patrol has been in operation since 2016. Volunteers have found cold-stunned loggerhead, green and Kemp’s ridley sea turtles along our shores as well deceased leatherbacks. Please email beachpatrol@seaturtle.ca.