National Aquarium Team Releases Two Rehabilitated Sea Turtles in Ocean City

On Thursday, June 19, two rehabilitated sea turtles who have spent just over six months receiving life-saving treatment with the Aquarium's Animal Health and Rescue teams were successfully released back into the ocean to the cheers of several hundred onlookers gathered at Ocean City's 40th Street beach access. The turtles, both juvenile Kemp's ridley sea turtles likely between three to five years of age, arrived separately for treatment with National Aquarium last fall, both exhibiting symptoms consistent with cold stunning—a hypothermic condition that affects turtles caught in the quickly cooling waters of the Atlantic Ocean each fall—and injuries related to boat strike events.

Mothman and Icky (short for Ichthyocentaurs), as these released turtles were known to staff, received treatment to overcome cold-stunning effects, including respiratory issues, dehydration and malnutrition, as well as eye and skin infections commonly acquired when their body temperatures dip to meet the cooling water surrounding them. Cold stunning leaves turtles disoriented and susceptible to infection, boat strikes and attacks by larger animals.

Mothman was assisted back into the waves by Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan, who was on hand for the release. Since 2023, the National Aquarium has partnered with the Town of Ocean City, MD to increase survival odds for animals rescued on Delmarva beaches with the establishment of the National Aquarium Stranding Response Center, a satellite animal rescue triage center that serves as an Eastern Shore headquarters for the Aquarium's efforts.

"We are thrilled to partner with the National Aquarium and have marine animals treated right here in Ocean City," commented Mayor Rick Meehan. "For the National Aquarium to have an ongoing presence in Ocean City is highly beneficial for marine life."

Icky was admitted to National Aquarium Animal Rescue last December with 35 other sea turtles from the New England Aquarium, after being rescued along the coast of Massachusetts in November 2024. Icky arrived exhibiting symptoms of cold stunning and injuries consistent with a boat strike, including severe wounds on their carapace, front flippers, and wounds to both the area surrounding their eye and an ulcer on the eye itself. These wounds were treated with topical creams, betadine flushes, antibiotics, and four different types of steroid and antibiotic eye drops, as well as an eye serum that was donated from the blood of a loggerhead sea turtle also rehabilitating at the Aquarium. Throughout the course of rehabilitation, Icky gained about 2 kg, weighing in at about 6.1 kg (13.5 pounds) before release.

Mothman was stranded as cold-stunned in Bear Creek off the Patapsco River nearby in Dundalk, MD, in December 2024, and started rehabilitation with Aquarium teams by warming up slowly over the course of several days. Typically, when National Aquarium teams receive cold-stunned turtles from the New England Aquarium, they have warmed up during triage prior to being transferred. Since Mothman was a local cold-stun found in 50°F water, they went through the process of gradually warming up before they were able to be in the Aquarium's 75°F hospital pool.

Mothman also had to overcome fractures to the carapace and was treated for osteomyelitis, a severe bone infection that caused a fracture in their front flipper. They were treated with multiple antibiotics over the course of their recovery. Throughout the course of rehabilitation, Mothman gained about 1.5 kg, weighing in at about 6.9 kg (15 pounds) before release.

Both Icky and Mothman received subdermal PIT tags—similar to the microchips used to track household pets—and a flipper tag on both rear flippers. These identifying items will allow for data collection and collaboration in the event that either turtle encounters other rehabilitation or research teams in the future.

As they recover and grow, each animal that rehabilitates with the Aquarium's Animal Health and Rescue teams is assessed and hopefully cleared for release back to the ocean in collaboration with our partners at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as soon as possible so that their natural foraging and migrating instincts remain intact. In order to be considered eligible for release, each turtle must be fully recovered from any injuries and infections and be able to swim and forage for food independently. NOAA plays a crucial role in overseeing the Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network, which helps coordinate emergency response and data collection with stranding partners like the National Aquarium.

Despite the onslaught of sea turtles requiring treatment every year, no formal federal grant program exists to support sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation. The National Aquarium is championing the Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance and Rehabilitation Act, a bipartisan, bicameral bill that would allow for more stable and sustainable funding for sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation programs, ensuring the return of more rehabilitated endangered sea turtles to the ocean.