Nonprofit’s initiative aimed at helping out injured turtles

Fishermen on Pompano Beach’s pier encountering an injured or sick sea turtle will soon have tools and information to help them.

Thanks to a grant obtained by the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach, the nonprofit will install signage with contacts for wildlife officials, so they can respond and handle injured sea turtles in a timely manner.

“We don’t want to discourage anglers from using the pier, but we want to get information to them in case they do encounter a sea turtle and not just cut the line because that could potentially be detrimental if it’s not taken care of,” said Courtney Kiel, a natural resources specialist with Broward County. “The main benefit is getting the resources and info to them, and we’re hoping it will lead to increased participation in rescuing turtles.”

The program, the Responsible Pier Initiative, is an outreach effort by Loggerhead that has saved more than 80 sea turtles over the past two years, said Demi Fox, outreach coordinator for the center. Part of the program involves teaching ocean rescue, wildlife and pier management officials the proper rescue steps for injured sea turtles.

With pier-goers using hooks and fishing line to fish for their catch, turtles can get tangled in monofilament or get a hook stuck in their mouth. The center hopes to have the signage installed by March.

The organization will also provide information and tools on how to properly handle a turtle that is hooked to a fishing line instead of just cutting it, which can be harmful to the animal. Monofilament containers will also be provided to limit the amount of fishing line around the pier.

Turtle season runs from March through October in South Florida, with leatherback, loggerhead and green turtles coming to Broward’s coastline to lay eggs on local beaches. Kiel said the more residents keep their lighting, trash and debris on the beach to a minimum, the more it increases the turtles’ chances of surviving.

“We’re getting more and more turtle mothers coming here,” Kiel said.

Sean d’Oliveira can be reached at sdoliveira@ tribpub.com.

SUN SENTINEL STAFF PHOTO BY MARK RANDALL Demi Fox and Bill Parker, of the Loggerhead Marinelife Center, install turtle rescue signs in Deerfield Beach. Similar signs will soon be installed at Pompano Beach’s pier.