Gulf Specimen releases a rehabbed turtle

Scuttle the turtle was released at Alligator Point last week after spending a month being cared for at Gulf Specimen Marine Lab. The turtle had been hooked in the jaw at a fishing pier in Eastpoint in July.

The Gulf Specimen Marine Lab released Scuttle the turtle on Wednesday, Aug. 24 at Alligator Point Beach.

Scuttle is a juvenile Kemp’s ridley turtle.

Kemp’s ridley turtles are the rarest and most endangered sea turtle species on the planet.

The GSML sea turtle program focuses on rehabilitating sea turtles, with the Kemp’s ridley being one of their most common rescues. The program sees more of these turtles than any other sea turtle program.

Scuttle was caught by a fisherman on July 1st at the Eastpoint fishing pier and was hooked in the jaw. GSML removed the hook and monitored Scuttle until the turtle was ready to be released back into the ocean.

Before releasing Scuttle, Cypress Rudloe, the Managing Director of GSML, gave a special thanks to his staff and to the Alligator Point Sea Turtle Patrol Team that attended the turtle’s release.

“Us, along with APSTP, are all heavily done by funding by the general public giving donations, and by volunteering,” Rudloe said. “A lot of these programs don’t have federal funding or state funding, it’s all done by the actual drive of the people that are dedicated, passionate, and that really care about animals.”

Michelle Darpel, the director of APSTP, gave thanks to her team of 30 people, who patrol Alligator Point for nesting marine sea turtles and hatchlings every day.

Darpel announced that this was their “third best season” having counted over 32 nests.

“Ten of them have already hatched successfully, and we will have hatchlings through Alligator Point, now through mid-October,” Darpel said. Rudloe then passed Scuttle over to Kylee Lindsey, a team member for GSML, and she walked Scuttle to the ocean and released the turtle back into the ocean.

As Scuttle swam into the ocean, the crowd cheered the turtle on.