Residents Say Sea Turtles Rot on Beaches of the Gulf | Rocky Kistner's Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC

Residents Say Sea Turtles Rot on Beaches of the Gulf | Rocky Kistner's Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC


Laurel Lockamy thought she had seen the worst of the oil disaster last summer when waves of oil and tar patties washed onto her beach in Gulfport, MS, taking a major toll on the local tourist industry.

But now a new disaster is unfolding, she says, just as beachgoers are heading back to the water. A large spike in the number of dead sea turtles is being reported across the beaches of the Magnolia State. Residents now find them rotting in the springtime sun along with other animals and birds that float in with the tides.

Laurel has photographed three dead sea turtles on this stretch of sand in the past two weeks. Like other Mississippi residents, she’s never seen one dead—or alive—before.

Earlier this week, Laurel went out to the Gulfport beach with her camera to see if any new turtles had washed in. First she saw a dead armadillo curled up in the sand, along with several other dead birds. But a short stroll later she came across another turtle, decomposing along the water’s edge.

Dead sea turtle in Gulfport marked for disposal Photos by Laurel Lockamy

Laurel called the NOAA hotline and the state’s Institute of Marine Mammal Research (IMMR) to arrange a pickup. All turtles in the Gulf are on the endangered species list, and they are protected under federal law.

Over an hour later, she says, a crew from the IMMR showed up, took pictures and measurements, spray painted it with orange paint for pickup, and then left the turtle on the beach. A county beach worker told her they scooped up another turtle not far away and took it to the dump.

“They didn’t do any testing,” Laurel says, “they just measured it, sprayed it and left it on the beach to rot. This is ridiculous. Why isn’t anyone testing them? I’m terrified to go to the beach these days.”