Seeing giant holes on Pinellas beaches? You re not alone tampabay.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from tampabay.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
mtanji@mauinews.com
Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute Volunteer Lead Responders Alan Espiritu and Bruce Weyermann release a sea turtle patient back into the ocean at Po‘olenalena Beach Park in this undated photo. A total of 276 sea turtle strandings were documented on Maui in 2020, nearly double the 141 strandings seen in 2019, according to the institute’s recent report. Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute photo
A total of 276 sea turtle strandings were documented on Maui in 2020, a nearly 100 percent increase from 2019, according to data from the Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute.
All 276 sea turtles stranded last year were green sea turtles. Of the stranded turtles, 250 were found alive; the others had died, according to the Marine Institute’s recently released Sea Turtle Conservation Program 2020 Annual Report.
Jan 16, 2021
The Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute recently awarded its 2020 Volunteer of the Year Award to two recipients, Alan Espiritu and Bruce Weyermann, who both serve as volunteer lead field responders for the institute’s Sea Turtle Response Team.
The marine institute’s inaugural Volunteer of the Year Award recognizes team members for their leadership, outstanding service to the community and commitment to ocean conservation.
Espiritu and Weyermann volunteer almost daily and accumulated more than 800 hours of volunteer time in 2020, according to an announcement from the marine institute. They lead a team of trained volunteers and respond to reports received through the stranding response line. They also assist with patient care and treatments, transport turtles when needed and investigate innovative tools and resources to assist with sea turtle conservation efforts.