With over 800 rescues so far, it is a record-breaking winter for cold-stunned sea turtles on the Outer Banks

By Oliver

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With over 800 rescues so far, it is a record-breaking winter for cold-stunned sea turtles on the Outer Banks

2016 was a historic year for cold-stunned sea turtle rescues, and longtime N.E.S.T. (Network for Endangered Sea Turtles) volunteers recall it vividly.

In January 2016, over 1,200 live turtles were rescued along the state’s shorelines, with approximately 600 found in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

Frank Welles, a 15-year sea turtle rescuer and Hatteras Island N.E.S.T Coordinator, says the last few weeks were eerily similar to the now-infamous “Turtle Apocalypse of 2016.”

“A normal busy year for us is 100-200 rescues,” Welles said. “The last time we’ve had anything close to this [season] was 2016.”

Sea turtles are cold-blooded reptiles that derive heat from their surroundings. When they become too cold, their metabolism slows, preventing them from moving to warmer waters. This can result in a variety of medical issues, including drowning if the turtle is unable to raise its head above the water to breathe.

When there is a cold snap and temperatures drop, N.E.S.T. volunteers patrol the Outer Banks’ primarily soundside beaches, looking for cold-stunned sea turtles that have washed up.

When they are discovered, other volunteers carefully transport them to the Sea Turtle Assistance and Rehabilitation (STAR) Center at the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island, one of only two dedicated sea turtle hospitals in the state. (The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center is located in Surf City, North Carolina.)

For the past few weeks, volunteers and STAR center staff have been working tirelessly to rescue cold-stunned sea turtles, as have duck hunters, fishermen, and NC Ferry System personnel.

“This has been a record year,” stated Tony Parisi, president of N.E.S.T. “We’ve had well over 70 volunteers over several weeks who have rescued around 800 sea turtles.”

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) collaborates with N.E.S.T. and other partner organizations along the North Carolina coast to carry out these cold-stun rescues, and it is the primary agency in charge of all rescue operations.

According to Sarah A. Finn, NCWRC’s Coastal Wildlife Diversity Biologist, there were more sea turtle rescues statewide in 2016, but the 2024/2025 season broke the all-time record on the Outer Banks.

“In total, we have recovered nearly 900 live turtles in North Carolina since December 1, 2024, making this our second-highest cold stun event on record in the state,” says Finn.

“With 790 live turtles recovered in Hatteras region alone since December 1, this event is the largest that we have recorded for the Hatteras region.”

In 2016, sea turtle rescues were distributed more evenly throughout the state. In 2024, sea turtles have mainly been washing up on the beaches of Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands, posing a new set of challenges for both N.E.S.T. volunteers and the veterinarians who care for them at the STAR Center and elsewhere.

“This is about the same thing that happened in 2016,” Welles said, referring to a six-day cold spell in early December 2024 that resulted in the rescue of 570 sea turtles. “It went from moderately mild to very cold all at once, which caused the massive cold-stun.

A second cold snap occurred just last week, and for a brief period of time, N.E.S.T. volunteers were forced to stand down because all statewide medical and turtle rehab facilities were at capacity.

“I have been working in sea turtle rehabilitation since 2005, and 2016 was definitely our busiest year yet, until now,” said Christian Legner, associate director of the NC Aquarium on Roanoke Island.

Since December, the STAR Center has received approximately 800 sea turtles, 552 of which have been released by the US Coast Guard Station Hatteras Inlet, the US Coast Guard Station Fort Macon, and the fishing vessel Phideux out of Wanchese. These turtle-saving fleets release recovered sea turtles miles from shore, near the Gulf Stream’s warmer waters.

So, the reason rehabilitation centers have been stretched to their limits isn’t necessarily the number of turtles shuttled to centers across the state, but rather the number of turtles who require more long-term medical care and attention.

“If you think about human emergencies and triage, we had the first cold event in December, with hundreds of turtles per day, and many of those turtles were in good condition.

They were content with their surroundings, ate well, and had recently experienced a cold. And we were able to release these turtles within 4-5 days of observation and bloodwork,” Legner explained.

“What we’ve been seeing in the second half of December [and beyond] are sea turtles that have been in the cold for longer periods of time, or they may have been cold stunned and then cold stunned again. “These turtles are sicker when we get them.”

There are currently approximately 65 sea turtles at the STAR Center who require longer and more intensive medical care. Some may have infections, be emaciated, or be in the early stages of kidney failure, all of which are severe side effects of being cold stunned.

“When we have a lot of turtles that are ill, we have to spend a lot of time with them and are unable to hold as many sea turtles,” Legner told me.

When the STAR Center is at capacity, NCWRC steps in to see if some of the turtles can be relocated to other facilities.

“The state’s other two aquariums at Pine Knoll Shores and Fort Fisher, depending on conditions, can help, and they often do with simple cases,” said Matthew Godfrey, NCWRC’s sea turtle biologist.

“Sometimes, we also partner with the NC Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, as they have a veterinarian there, and given their proximity to the veterinary school at NC State, it’s a good location to send more complex cases.”

As of January 11, the strain on the STAR Center and statewide rehabilitation facilities has eased, and with a break in the cold weather patterns, it’s unlikely that these facilities will be at full capacity anytime soon.

It’s a relief for the N.E.S.T. volunteers on the Outer Banks, who can now resume their rescue efforts without interruption until the warmer spring weather returns.

“Everyone is heartbroken when there are sea turtles and we can’t help them because there’s no place for them to go,” says Welles. “This happened in 2016, too. But we’re nearing the end of a lengthy [cold stun] event, and the good news is that they’re recovering.”

“It has definitely been a busy winter for the whole team,” the coach said. “But this is an amazing team of people. There are a lot of good people who make this happen, from getting them out of the water to getting them to the aquarium and then back to sea.”

If you spot a sea turtle on land this time of year, please call one of the stranding hotlines with your location:

  • If you spot a cold-stunned sea turtle in or along the Pamlico Sound, contact the 24-hour N.E.S.T. hotline at 252-441-8622. You can also call The National Park Service at 252-216-6892 if you spot a sea turtle along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
  • For more information on N.E.S.T., and to make a donation or learn about volunteer opportunities, visit http://www.nestonline.org/.

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