Mote releases 2 turtles rehabbed, recovered from red tide

by Lisa Neff on April 29, 2025 | Be the first to comment

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A crew with the Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Hospital at Sarasota-based Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium carries “Grimm” toward the water of Lido Beach April 23. “Grimm” and another sea turtle, “Monique,” were released after rehab from sickness likely caused by red tide toxins. Islander Photos: Courtesy Hayley Rutger/Mote Marine Laboratory
“Monique” prepares for a swim in the Gulf. “Monique” crawled on the beach into the surf while another rehabbed sea turtle, “Grimm,” was lowered into the waves by a Mote team. “Monique” was rescued March 6 after being found on South Siesta Key’s Turtle Beach. “Grimm” was rescued Feb. 16 after being found floating near Sanibel. Within Sarasota or Manatee waters, people who see a dead sea turtle or marine mammal can call Mote’s Stranding Investigations Program at 888-345-2335. To report a sick or stranded manatee or turtle, call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at 1-888-404-FWCC.
“Monique” is examined after arriving to Mote’s Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Hospital. Red tide, caused by a naturally occurring microscopic alga — Karenia brevis — can produce toxins harmful to marine life, including sea turtles. The blooms occur periodically along Florida’s coast. To learn more about red tide, visit mote.org.

Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring will mark May Day — the official start of sea turtle nesting season on the island — with a launch party.

The event, 3-6 p.m. Thursday, May 1, at Coquina Beach, also celebrates Suzi Fox Day, honoring the memory of AMITW’s longtime executive director, who died in September 2022.

Fox’s obituary in The Islander read in part, “Suzi Fox — the adventurous, compassionate, kind-hearted leader behind the effort to save sea turtles and their habitat on Anna Maria Island for 30 years — died Sept. 30. … Her legacy will be to sea turtles, that they forever have a habitat on Anna Maria Island.”

For more about nesting season and Suzi Fox Day, go to page 12.

Meanwhile, on the beaches, it’s lights out at night.

— Lisa Neff

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