Florida Keys Turtle Hospital Hosts Annual Sea Turtle Workshop

Over 120 sea turtle experts from around the world traveled to the beautiful Florida Keys to attend the Sea Turtle Workshop hosted by The Turtle Hospital this past weekend.  Veterinarians, rehabilitation specialists, and scientists specializing in marine turtles traveled great distances to share their experience and to help further their knowledge of sea turtles. New friendships were born, colleagues reunited, and ideas shared regarding marine turtle veterinary care, rehabilitation, husbandry, education, and research.  The Monroe County Government EOC was the site for a full day of lectures and presentations.  Georgia Sea Turtle Center’s Dr. Terry Norton talked about “Wound Care in Sea Turtles” and lead a hand’s on lab on Wound Vac Therapy at the Turtle Hospital on Sunday.  Florida Atlantic University’s Dr. Jeanette Wyneken presented on “Growth and shape change in neonate Flatback Turtles” and lectured on “Flippers: Inside and Out on Sunday.  The University of Florida was well represented with lectures and hands-on labs:  Dr. Brian Stacy lead a Necropsy Lab at the Turtle Hospital, Dr. Nicole Stacy presented on “Sea Turtle Leukocytes” and lead a blood lab on Sunday and Dr. Mike Walsh spoke about “Euthanasia of Immature Green Sea Turtles”.  Seating at the government center was filled to capacity and a total of 27 lectures ran well into Saturday evening.  The Hyatt’s Faro Blanco Lighthouse Restaurant catered a delicious buffet dinner on the lawn at the Turtle Hospital for workshop attendees.  Large celebration tents lit with hanging chandeliers kept guests dry despite the soggy weather.  The angelic voice of local entertainer Adrienne helped lighten the mood and added to the ambiance as the day’s serious topics waned into dinner conversation. Although guests came from different backgrounds, from as far away as Italy, they had one goal in mind: to better help the survival of sea turtles throughout the world. The Turtle Hospital would like to thank Marathon’s island community, the vendors, and Monroe County Commissioners for their support and the warm welcome extended to conference attendees.

[livemarket market_name="KONK Life LiveMarket" limit=3 category=“” show_signup=0 show_more=0]