Catch

Loggerhead (Caretta caretta)

(ST0952)

Age Class	Subadult
Gender	Unknown
Date Stranded	August 29, 2009
Location of Stranding	Found 18 miles out of Big Sarasota Pass in Gulf of Mexico
Date of Arrival	August 29, 2009
Number of Days of Care	552

Final Disposition

Released on Mar. 04, 2011

top view of sea turtle with barnacles on its shell

close up image of sea turtle named catch

Turtle upon admission.

8/30 Turtle found floating in Gulf of Mexico by charter fishing boat off the coast of Sarasota, Fla. Two wounds that appear to be from a boat propeller found on carapace. Turtle also covered with numerous small barnacles. Wounds were cleaned and the turtle was left under a spray bar to keep the soft tissue wet overnight. 8/31 Turtle placed in shallow water and offered food, which was eaten. 9/15 Wounds given a deep cleaning. 9/22 Turtle continues to eat and water level is being slowly raised.1/30 Animal continues to gain weight and carapace is healing well. 3/14 Wounds continue to heal very nicely. Turtle is currently eating well and has a routine health exam and wound cleaning once a month. Release will be considered as soon as the injuries are closed over with healthy bone (carapace) tissue. 3/27 Bloodwork from this month is stable, and wounds are looking good. Plan to move Catch into a larger tank to give her more sunlight and room to exercise as soon as the space becomes available. 4/15 Catch has been doing well. She will be moved into a larger outdoor tank tomorrow after her exam to give her more space and sunlight. Turtle is eating well, gaining weight and wounds are healing nicely. 5/6 Catch is doing very well in the larger tank and seems to be enjoying the increased space and activity level. Most recent bloodwork looks very good, and we are just waiting for the wounds to heal over — hopefully they only have a few more weeks to go! 5/23 Catch remains stable — turtle is due for a re-check soon and will potentially be releasable at that time. 6/8 Catch is doing very well, and the wounds are almost healed, just not quite firm enough for release into the wild. 6/22 Catch is due to be examined by Dr. Andy Stamper at the end of the week to check the status of her wounds. The hope is to release Catch in the near future. 7/25 Wounds are healing nicely. Will continue current course of action with hopes to release in the near future. 8/8 Most recent exam revealed more healing but still not ready for release. 9/7 Exam scheduled at the end of this week to determine if the turtle is now ready to be released. 10/1 The turtle still has one area that needs to heal, but is close. Will apply for release before the winter approaches. 11/28 The area of concern has not closed and hardened enough for release yet. 1/29 Catch's areas of concern have now hardened and the turtle is ready for release! 3/4 Catch was released today at North Lido Beach! Click here to read more about it.