ON THE LOOKOUT

Sea turtle group looking for volunteers to survey Cape Breton beaches.

The Canadian Sea Turtle Network is asking for help from the public about sea turtle sightings in order to help with the conservation of the species.

Each fall, the Canadian Sea Turtle Network (CSTN) in Sydney receives a handful of calls to its toll-free, 24-hour turtle hotline from people around the island who have found an endangered hard-shelled sea turtle stranded or dead on the shoreline, often thrown up on the rocks by a storm or a strong tide.

In 2016, the CSTN launched the Sea Turtle Beach Patrol, an initiative based out of Neil’s Habour in August that surveys provincial beaches in the hopes of better understanding where and how often sea turtles become stranded.

“Many of the leatherback sea turtles found along the shores of Cape Breton have been found tangled in fishing gear,” said Hamelin.

The CSTN research program collaborated with local fisherman to promote the conservation of the species in the local communities. This research program allowed the fishermen to bring them out to sea to collect data on turtles, which included satellite tagging the turtles in order to follow them on annual migration.

Although the majority of turtles people have found in the past have already succumbed to hypothermia, researchers are hoping the Sea Turtle Beach Patrol will help to find these sea turtles while they are still alive so they can be taken to the emergency veterinary care that they need. All species of sea turtles are endangered, so finding them is important. Much can be learned from both living and dead animals.

Now in its second year, the Beach Patrol project is a growing initiative, and the CSTN is looking for volunteers to conduct beach surveys around the province until the end of November. The network would like patrol volunteers to walk a local beach once a week (weather permitting) to search for these turtles. Most of these sea turtle stranding events in Cape Breton happen mainly along the shores of the Judique and Port Hood area, although all members of the province are encouraged to participate.

Volunteers who live near the coastline and can easily get to a beach on a regular basis are the ideal participants in this project.

For more information and to sign up, email Kayla Hamelin at khamelin@seaturtle.ca.

PHOTO SUBMITTED BY KAYLA HAMELIN Eric, the sea turtle, was rescued by the Canadian Sea Turtle Network, but sadly passed away after being rescued off the shores of Cape Breton.