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10 sea turtles die on county beaches

Red Tide is suspected in the surge of strandings over two days. The aquarium rescues one older male loggerhead and is caring for it.

By EILEEN SCHULTE
Published August 10, 2005

	[Times photo: Ted McLaren]
	Clearwater Marine Aquarium staff members haul an adult male loggerhead sea turtle to a holding area at the facility on Tuesday afternoon. A total of 10 dead turtles have washed up along Gulf beaches within the past two days as a result, biologists fear, of Red Tide.

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium's staff never got a moment's rest on Monday or Tuesday.

For 48 hours, the calls to the hotline kept coming in.

Beachcombers and boaters were finding dead or dying adult loggerhead and Kemp's Ridley sea turtles stranded up and down Pinellas County beaches.

Ten were dead.

Only one survived: a more-than-20-year-old male loggerhead nicknamed Sirata Sam, who was found floating near a sandbar just yards off St. Pete Beach behind the Sirata Beach Resort.

"Normally we get one dead per month," said Dana Zucker, the aquarium's director of community relations. "Everybody is really upset. They are saying, "What is going on?' "

The answer might be Red Tide.

"It's a good possibility the turtle mortalities are from Red Tide," said Dr. Janine Cianciolo, the aquarium's staff veterinarian. "(The) algae produces a toxin, and it's the toxin that kills them."

Sirata Sam is in serious condition, but Cianciolo said just being away from the noxious stench might make him feel better.

Not strong enough to hold his head above water, the turtle is being kept in a holding tank covered by wet towels while he undergoes blood tests and receives fluids.

He has not yet been weighed, but he is so large it took four people to carry him into the aquarium Tuesday.

His treatment is expected to cost more than $5,000, and he will probably stay at the aquarium for several weeks or even months.

While Sam is still a resident, Cianciolo will take the opportunity to repair a small lesion on one of the turtle's eyes.

Zucker said baby turtles are now hatching, and she has had reports of dead hatchlings found floating in sea grass.

Cianciolo said anyone who sees a dead or struggling turtle should call the aquarium's 24-hour hotline at (727) 441-1790.

Eileen Schulte can be reached at 727 445-4153 or schulte@sptimes.com

[Last modified August 10, 2005, 00:37:16]