Introduction
The intention of this web-site is to bring all UK and Irish marine turtle related information together in one place.
Advice can be found here on how to deal with an entangled turtle in fishing gear at sea, turtles found stranded alive, stranded dead and even the protocol for post-mortem examination.
Every marine turtle report is useful, whether a sighting at sea, or a stranding on a beach and is entered into the UK & Irish TURTLE database. The database includes records from 1748 to present day. The database is funded by NatureScot, Natural England, the Irish Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Welsh Government.
Out of Range
Of the 7 species of marine turtles, 6 have been recorded in UK & Irish waters. These are the green, hawksbill, Kemp's ridley, leatherback, loggerhead and olive ridley turtle. The only species capable of surviving in our cold seas around the UK is the leatherback turtle. The other 5 marine turtles are all 'hard-shelled' and will be mostly vagrant juveniles swept from the warm Caribbean or US coast by strong winds and currents into the north Atlantic Gyre. Once in cold waters around our coasts they quickly become 'cold-stunned' and will not survive these low temperatures. Some stranded hard-shelled turtles that appear dead may still be alive. It's important not to return these to the sea but to seek advice, the UK & Irish Turtle Code gives the relevant contact details.
North Atlantic Gyre with subsidiary currents.
