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| Guy Harvey's artwork of a Hawksbill Sea Turtle |
Saturday June 16 is celebrated as World Sea Turtle Day, and it is fitting since this species has a global appeal. Locally, it's the loggerhead sea turtle that is the most common and the 'Lights Out' at night campaign has been ingrained on Lowcountry residents for decades now. Summertime means sea turtle nesting season and beachcombers are likely to find turtle tracks and turtle nests on the area's barrier islands. Anglers report sea turtle sightings with regularity, and this can include other species as well. I remember one day in the nearshore waters fishing for king mackerel when four or five Leatherback sea turtles came up for a bit of air on their way northward, showing me just how LARGE they are! Back on land, Charleston is blessed to be home to the Sea Turtle Hospital at the S.C. Aquarium, a program that is quietly doing great things not only to help sick turtles recover and return to the ocean, but also to raise awareness about the plight of sea turtles. Did you know that plastic grocery bags (which become pollution in the ocean) are often eaten by sea turtles thinking they are jellyfish - which can cause their death. South Carolina's DNR is conducting summer 'turtle cruises' to perform research on sea turtle's along the coastal waters. Of course, no one locally or worldwide wants anything to happen to these leisurely-oriented creatures which are a vital part of the oceanic ecosystem. Sea turtles are an evolutionary success story, and stand a great chance to continue to populate the world's oceans far into the future.
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| Two loggerhead sea turtles on Kiawah Island |
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| Guy Harvey Insider and Kelly Thorvalson, turtle biologist |
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| Based in Charleston, South Carolina |
To view past blog entires about S.C. sea turtles click
here.
It appears this link is no longer working Hugo.
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