If you find an injured sea turtle…
If you find a sick-looking sea turtle or one that is injured or entangled in fishing gear, or even a dead sea turtle, please contact a local stranding center in the state or local region the sea turtle is found.
(SEE BELOW)
Maryland
Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Cooperative Oxford Laboratory
Oxford, MD
(dead animals only)
Phone: (800) 628-9944
National Aquarium in Baltimore, Marine Animal Rescue Program
Baltimore, MD
(live animals only)
Phone: (410) 576-3880
Massachusetts
NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region, Protected Resources Division
Gloucester, MA
Phone: (978) 281-9300
Massachusetts Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary
Phone: (508) 349-2615
Boston, MA
Phone: (617) 973-5247
International Fund for Animal Welfare
Yarmouth Port, MA
Phone: (508) 743-9548
Buzzards Bay, MA
(pinniped [seal] rehab only)
Phone: (508) 743-9888
Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies
Provincetown, MA
(entangled animals in the marine environment only)
Phone: (800) 900-3622
Marine Mammal Alliance Nantucket
Nantucket, MA
Phone: (833) 667-6626
New Hampshire
Rye, NH
Phone: (603) 997-9448
Boston, MA
Phone: (617) 973-5247
New York State - Long Island
New York Stranding Hotline
Phone: (631) 369-9829
Atlantic Marine Conservation Society
Hampton Bays, NY
Phone: (631) 369-9829
Washington, D.C.
Smithsonian Institute, National Museum of Natural History
Washington, DC
Phone: (202) 633-1260
To report a sea turtle that is sick-looking, injured or dead in another state, follow this link to NOAA Fisheries and follow their instructions.
The above organizations have the authority to help stranded or sick marine mammals and sea turtles. Wildlife biologists and experts with the help of trained volunteers will determine if an animal is in need of medical attention, needs to be moved from a populated area, or just needs time to rest.
Protection
The United States Endangered Species Act (ESA) protects endangered and threatened species and their habitats by prohibiting the “take” of listed animals and the interstate or international trade in listed plants and animals, including their parts and products, except under Federal permit. Such permits generally are available for conservation and scientific purposes.
What is “Take”?
The ESA makes it unlawful for a person to take a listed animal without a permit. Take is defined as “to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect or attempt to engage in any such conduct.” Through regulations, the term “harm” is defined as “an act which actually kills or injures wildlife. Such an act may include significant habitat modification or degradation where it actually kills or injures wildlife by significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns, including breeding, feeding, or sheltering.”
