Photo: New England Aquarium
WEST DENNIS, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Senator Ed Markey joined staff from the New England Aquarium on Cape Cod over the weekend to release back to sea eight rehabilitated sea turtles.
They wound up stranded and cold-stunned last winter on a cape beach.
The staff at New England Aquarium's Sea Turtle Hospital in Quincy took the turtles in and nursed them back to health.
Senator Markey was joined by a crowd of onlookers who gave a big cheer as the turtles were released and swam away into Nantucket Sound.
On World Sea Turtle Day in June, Senators Markey and Senator John Cornyn of Texas announced the reintroduction of the Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance Act to establish a new $30 million grant program at the Department of Commerce to fund institutions in Massachusetts and across the United States in their efforts to rescue, rehabilitate, and research stranded sea turtles.
Massachusetts Congressman Bill Keating introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Aquarium scientists used satellite tags to track and study the movements of the rescued turtles as they are working to have a better understanding of the turtle’s migratory and feeding habits.
The turtles were among 518 live sea turtles rescued from Cape Shores during the 2022 cold-stunning season and rehabilitated in Quincy.
Thirteen turtles currently remain in treatment as they await their return to the wild.
WBZ's Jim MacKay (@JimMacKayOnAir) reports.
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