We are responsible for the UK’s and Irish turtle database that records all sightings and strandings of marine turtles for UK’s and Irish government. We also help coordinate and advise on out of habitat marine turtle rescue, recovery, rehabilitation and repatriation. This page is designed to give you all the information you will need if you see a marine turtle.
What to do if you find a marine turtle
- It is important that if you find a marine turtle on the shoreline you do not put it back in the sea. All hard-shell marine turtles cannot survive in our oceans and will die
- If the animal is intact or alive, please call the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) hotline on 01825 765546. The BDMLR call handler will advise you on what to do.
- If the animal is clearly dead (missing limbs and decomposing) please report through the report button at the top of this page.
- Please take pictures and note the exact location as this will help identify the species and enable us to be able to collect the animal.
The UK and Irish Turtle code gives practical advise on what to do if you see a marine turtle and how to care for one until help can arrive.
There is 7 species of marine turtles. These are the leatherback, green, hawksbill, Kemp’s ridley, Flatback, loggerhead and olive ridley turtle. Of these 6 have been recorded in UK & Irish waters, with the only one not being recorded currently is the flatback sea turtle. The only species capable of surviving in our cold seas around the UK is the leatherback turtle. The other 5 marine turtles we see are all ‘hard-shelled’ and will be mostly vagrant juveniles swept from the warm Caribbean or US coast by strong winds and currents into the north Atlantic Gyre. Once in cold waters around our coasts they quickly become ‘cold-stunned’ and will not survive these low temperatures. Some stranded hard-shelled turtles that appear dead may still be alive. It’s important not to return these to the sea but to seek advice, the UK & Irish turtle code above gives relevant advice. More information on the individual turtles can be found on our home page under identification.
Although we do not have any facilities ourselves to care for marine turtles, we do work closely with volunteer rescue groups like the British Divers Marine life rescue and various aquariums around the UK that care for these turtles to help them recover so they can be released back to the oceans they are from.
Due to the turtles being wild animals the aquariums that care for these must keep them in quarantine to prevent infection spreading to their marine animals. They are also unable to show the turtles due to being protected by CITES. This means that the aquariums give professional care to these turtles at great cost to themselves which we recognise and greatly appreciate.
To help we have helped produce various documentation including the turtle rehabilitation manual that gives professional advice to both rescue agencies and vets on how to assess and treat marine turtles. We also have the necessary forms to help aquariums and vets record all the details needed for the turtle database and repatriation documentation.
Provision 061017
Crewmen with ‘Must Go Sally’ Loggerhead Turtle, rehabbed by Dingle Oceanworld and being loaded as the LE Niamh departs for the Meditteranean from Haulbowline with LS Wayne Ryan (dad) onboard
Pic Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision
Where turtles are released depends on the species. With Kemp’s ridleys, we know where they came from. They mostly nest on a 16-mile beach in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas and on Padre Island in the US state of Texas, and elsewhere on the Gulf Coast. Historically, this species has been flown back to the USA, ideally for release into the Gulf of Mexico.
The loggerhead sea turtle is distributed all over the world, so it is not clear where this species could have come from. It is most likely that it was swept off the east coast of the USA or the Caribbean into the North Atlantic Current, only to be hit by a southwesterly storm that blew it into the cold waters of the UK/Ireland. However, it could also be from a Mediterranean population.
As the place of origin is not clear, the Canary Islands have been chosen as the release site. The rationale for this destination is that it is a relatively short flight, that the islands have a favorable climate, that good rehabilitation facilities are located there, and that it is located close to the North Atlantic Overhead or the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea if the turtle can find it.
As the green sea turtle is generally found throughout the Atlantic Ocean, we are currently flying them to Gran Canaria for release — like the loggerhead turtle above — so that they can be transported by the North Atlantic Current.
Unfortunately, due to Brexit, CITES Export and Import permits along with a valid Health Certificate and Letter of Legal Acquisition are now required for this European destination.
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