Kemp’s ridleys baby sea turtles released in the Gulf waters

Thousands of baby sea turtles are released into the western Gulf of Mexico hoping that when they have reached the waters of the eastern Gulf, BP will have already cleaned up the area.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service have started the annual releasing of the baby turtles that hatched on Padre Island National Seashore relying on the fact that Texas has not been very affected by the oil spill. For years now, scientists incubated and hatched eggs to help the endangered turtle species. They have no alternative, since the risks of holding them in captivity at a certain stage in their life cycle is worse than releasing them in the oily water. Hundreds of baby turtles have already been released on the Texas beaches and more will be released next week. The decision started a controversy, and the supporters say that besides getting them out from the oily area there should be no intervention in the Kemp’s ridleys course of life, so that the babies should be left to manage on their own. The critics say that releasing them into the water at this point might be very dangerous because hurricanes, storms or seasonal changes in currents could bring the oil in their way.

Deborah Crouse, a sea turtle biologist in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Endangered Species Recovery Program, says that raising them in captivity is not an option, because they do not survive for long, but she admits that releasing them is risky at this point. The decision of releasing the Kemp’s ridleys was taken by a team of 14 wildlife experts that balanced the risks of holding them in captivity versus the damage done by the oil. Although no oiled turtles have been found in Texas, Carole Allen, the director of the Sea Turtle Restoration Project’s Gulf office in Houston, criticizes the turtle’s release in Texas and says that at least some nesting mothers and baby turtles should be kept in captivity until the oil is cleaned. baby turtles have the habit of swimming an attaching themselves to algae mats or other floating habitats, which can be oily. The Kemp’s ridleys have been on the endangered species list since 1973 and are among the smallest sea turtles living in the Gulf of Mexico waters.