A crowd packed Sombrero Beach before sunset on Aug. 25 to watch as staff from Marathon’s Turtle Hospital teamed with Force Blue to send four juvenile green sea turtles back to their ocean home.
Rescued this year and rehabbed at the Turtle Hospital, “Myrtle,” “Emma,” “Keira” and “Splash” were treated for a variety of fibropapilloma tumors and boat strike injuries with tumor removal surgeries, wound care, laser therapy, antibiotics, fluids, vitamins and a diet of greens and mixed seafood.
Established in 2016, Force Blue retrains and redeploys Special Operations veterans and combat divers to work alongside scientists and environmentalists on marine conservation missions. The nonprofit aims to address two problems – a rapidly-declining marine environment and the difficulty that many servicemen and women face in adjusting to civilian life after their service ends.
