|
|
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 27, 2001
Contact:
WHO: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Law EnforcementWHAT: Three opportunities to see rescued threatened loggerhead hatchlings being transported at the airport, at the Health Assessment Check point, and at a send-off at the dock to the release site in the Sargassum seaweed (6-10 miles at sea) off the east coast of Florida in the Palm Beach area.WHEN & WHERE: Tuesday - August 28, 2001 11:00 a.m. (EST)INFO: The 20 threatened loggerhead hatchlings are being returned from Ohio where a tourist had allegedly taken eggs from Florida's east coast near Hillsboro Beach. The hatched turtles then came into the possession of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. The incident is under investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Raiding sea turtle nests or otherwise harming them is a violation of the Endangered Species Act. These hatchling turtles will be released at sea to afford better chance of survival, and to coincide with their approximate location at this stage of their life. They can't be released at the beach as they have already used up critical energy from their yoke sack that would get them through the dangerous trek down the beach, to the surf, then through the coastal waters. For more information:
Current information and photographs
NOTE: You can view our releases or subscribe to receive them -- via e-mail -- at the Service's Southeast Regional home page at http://southeast.fws.gov. Our national home page is at: http://news.fws.gov/newsreleases/. Atlanta, GA 30345 Phone: 404/679-7289 Fax: 404/679-7286 |
|
|
|