I will always have a soft spot for three places: Disneyland, Universal Studios and Sea Turtle Inc., a nonprofit facility located on South Padre Island.
Sea Turtle Inc. works to rehabilitate sea turtles that have washed up on shore due to severe injuries.
The first time I visited the facility was the first time I ever visited the Island. It was a very chilly, overcast November day and at the end of the narrow strip of land that is South Padre Island, stood this small wooden structure with a beautiful sandcastle and a sign that read “Welcome to Sea Turtle Inc.” My family and I walked into the building, and it was then that sea turtles became my favorite animal.
Since that day in 2014, Sea Turtle Inc. has grown by expanding its facility. Behind the original building, they have added a boardwalk, an educational complex that holds a gift shop inside, an amphitheater that seats 234 people and five new tanks that hold the facility’s five resident sea turtles: Gerry, Allison and Merry Christmas, the Atlantic Greens; Hang 10, the Kemp Ridley; and Fred, the Loggerhead.
Resident sea turtles can no longer be released from Sea Turtle Inc. because they are not capable of surviving on their own in the ocean. Turtles “that do not have 75% of their flippers, have birth defects, cannot dive, or are deemed unsuitable for a life in the wild” all reside at Sea Turtle Inc., according to its website.
Many of these sea turtles wash up on shore with severe injuries due to poor human habits that include bad fishing practices, poaching, boat strikes and, of course, ocean littering. Informing the public is the best way to prevent these threats from recurring.
The things we can do to save the sea turtles are simple.
Next time you go fishing, make sure you are aware of your surroundings before starting the boat’s engine. Sea turtles are reptiles, which means, like lizards and snakes, they need air to breathe. So, every now and then, our little friends like to come up to the surface for air, which is when many boats strike and injure them.
Consuming fewer plastic products and disposing of them properly would decrease the number of sea turtles affected by plastic waste in our oceans. Keep in mind, a sea turtle’s brain is tiny and it is very easy for these creatures to mistake plastic items as food or get tangled up in the waste. Many times, turtles are found on beaches nearly starved to death due to blockage in their intestines by ingested plastic.
It is highly encouraged that people begin using reusable items such as water bottles, bags and straws. When we invest in such products, it is easier for us to litter less, motivate us to recycle and it encourages us to tell others to do the same.
Ever since my first visit to Sea Turtle Inc., I have become more considerate of my plastic intake, skipped the straw and invested in metal straws, and even purchased a couple of reusable Starbucks’ cups, along with some reusable water bottles.
Along with all of the items I have switched to, I have written one research paper on this topic, given a couple of speeches informing my classmates of the effects of littering and encouraging them to invest in reusable products, and even uploaded a vlog to YouTube of the time I visited Sea Turtle Inc. with some of my close friends.
Simple lifestyle changes make all the difference when trying to save the sea turtles. So, what do you say? Will you skip the straw this Earth Day?
