Newsroom

Three Kemp’s ridleys — the most endangered sea turtle species on Earth — were returned to the wild Thursday in Pinellas County following rehabilitation by Mote Marine Laboratory. Two of the turtles were tagged with special tracking devices, and their case histories are contributing to a major research study by Mote and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.

“Allison” and “Squeaky,” juvenile Kemp’s ridleys, were rescued in October from Lee County waters in Charlotte Harbor after being harmed by toxins from Florida red tide. Another juvenile Kemp’s ridley, “Jax 2,” that was also released, was originally rescued in May in Pinellas County waters after swallowing fishing line and a hook.

All three turtles were returned to sea by Mote caregivers around noon on Thursday, Dec. 6 from a beach on Honeymoon Island in Pinellas County — an area with suitable habitat for young Kemp’s ridleys.

• Media: For high-res photos, please contact Nadine Slimak at 941-388-4441, ext. 417 or nadines@mote.org
• Read the full story of these sea turtles and the research related to them.
• Follow the travels of Allison and Squeaky, the two turtles being tracked with satellite transmitters: http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/index.shtml?project_id=569

Allison, a Kemp's ridley sea turtle, is fitted with a satellite-linked tracking tag by Dr. Tony Tucker, manager of Mote's Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program, before returning to the wild on Dec. 6. The turtle's case history and release are supporting research by Mote and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida (Credit: Mote Marine Laboratory)

 
Squeaky, a Kemp's ridley sea turtle, swims after being released on Dec. 6 in Pinellas County. The turtle bears a satellite tag that will allow scientists at Mote Marine Laboratory and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida to follow its migration. (Credit: Mote Marine Laboratory)

Rally your Facebook friends and vote for Mote Marine Laboratory in the contest that could provide up to $20,000 for restoring depleted coral reefs.

The contest, entitled "Eat breakfast, save the world!" is presented by the Envirokidz brand from Nature's Path Foods. The contest awards grants to aid U.S. and Canadian nonprofit organizations and charities leading projects that support endangered species, habitat conservation or environmental education for kids.

Mote's project is dedicated to restoring coral reefs by creating mesh-like mats with hundreds of small coral colonies to blanket damaged and degraded reef habitats. Mote scientists will work with staghorn corals, a threatened species, to restore coral reef ecosystems in the Florida Keys. Restoring reefs helps provide habitat for a wide variety of marine life, including many fish species important to our economy.

You can vote for your favorite project once every 24 hours now through 11:59 p.m EST on Dec. 15. Winners will be announced in January.

How to Vote:

 
Mote scientist Erich Bartels surveys corals growing on blocks in the nursery offshore of Big Pine Key, Florida, as part of a multi-partner effort led by The Nature Conservancy to transplant nursery corals for reef restoration. Mote researchers hope to transplant additional staghorn corals using smaller coral fragments on a mesh blanket to help jump-start restoration on areas of depleted reef. (Photo copyright: Tim Calver www.timcalver.com)

• To read about the contest and view the entries, log in to Facebook and then search "Eat Breakfast, Save the World!" or paste this URL into your Web browser's address bar: apps.facebook.com/envirokidzaward/contests/298786
• Mote's entry is entitled "Coral Reef Reskinning and Restoration." To visit Mote's page, log into Facebook and paste this entry into your address bar: apps.facebook.com/envirokidzaward/contests/298786/voteable_entries/61401539

Mote is a leader in coral reef science, conservation, restoration and education. Learn more by visiting www.mote.org/science and scrolling over "Research Programs."

Monday Evening
Free Mote Science Café: From Dogs to Dogfish
Sit, stay, lie down... or swim to your target for a tasty fish?

Mote Science Cafés are informal, community discussions that give everyone the chance to participate.

The Café will feature Matt Seguin, Husbandry Supervisor in The Aquarium at Mote, where sharks are trained to swim to special targets for their food — a behavior that helps Mote take good care of them — and specialized trainers Karen Mersereau and Alice Ryskamp from the local facility of Southeastern Guide Dogs, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing guide dogs for the visually impaired. For more information about Southeastern, visit: http://www.guidedogs.org/.

• Please RSVP to Mote at 941-388-4441, ext. 172. Information is posted online at: www.mote.org/sciencecafe

Start the conversation early at the Mote Science Café Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/motesciencecafe

Saturdays With Santa Jaws Through Dec. 15
‘Tis the season to meet Santa Jaws — Santa’s helper shark, Gilly the Mote Mascot — in The Aquarium at Mote.

From noon to 2 p.m. each Saturday through Dec. 15, you can take pictures with Mote Mascot Gilly the Shark, who will be dressed for the holidays as Santa Jaws.

Photo ops with Santa Jaws are free with admission to Mote, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway in Sarasota. Visitors can also see more than 100 marine species, including sharks, dolphins, sea turtles, manatees and fish of all shapes and sizes.
For visitor information, go to www.mote.org and scroll over “Aquarium.”

• Still looking for great holiday gifts? Click here for Mote’s holiday gift guide.