Dead sea turtles washing up on Northeast Florida shores

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said two dead loggerhead sea turtles washed up along the river Tuesday at the BAE shipyard on Heckscher Drive.

They were described as emaciated and covered in barnacles.

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Neighbors on social media also posted about another dead sea turtle Tuesday in Atlantic Beach.

Marine expert Dr. Quinton White said it's sea turtle nesting season so we will see more sea turtles. But he said it's concerning that three were found dead in the past few days.

“When you see three coming up like that in the same period of time, you begin to look for a cause,” White said.

White said while we usually see the turtles out at sea, there is a reason why we’re seeing them in the St. Johns River.

“Right now, because of the drought, the salinity in the water in the St. Johns is high and we're recording full sea water at the mouth of the St. Johns right now,” White said.

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He said the increased salinity allows the turtles to swim farther down the river.

FWC said the bodies of the two sea turtles by BAE shipyards were collected, and usually a necropsy is done.

But they said in this case, necropsies weren’t necessary because there were no odd injuries involving their stranding.

FWC said if there continues to be a large number of strandings, they will investigate further.

Action News Jax will be partnering with Friends of the GTM Reserve this sea turtle nesting season for their Adopt-a-Nest program.

This program lets people “adopt” a sea turtle nest.

If they adopt by May 31, they will get a nest for this season and with a $500 pledge they can witness an evening nest hatch.

Cox Media Group