VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WVEC) -- Seven sea turtles were released off Va. Beach Thursday morning.
The juvenile Kemp's ridley turtles, juvenile Loggerhead turtles and a juvenile Green sea turtle were rehabilitated at the Virginia Aquarium.
Six were hooked by people fishing in Va. Beach and at Buckroe in Hampton in June and early this month.
A seventh was one of ten rehabbed at the aquarium after being cold-stunned in Barnstable County, Massachusetts in November 2014. Nine of them were released in March.
The turtles were released behind Neptune's Park at 31st Street as an enthusiastic crowd watched them make their way to water and swim off.
In the meantime, the aquarium's Stranding Response Team urges anyone who sees a hooked turtle to call the 24-hour hotline 757-385-7575.
If you see one, the team suggests:
- Bring the turtle up onto the pier or boat using a net
- don't try to remove the hook yourself.
- Keep the turtle contained in a quiet, shaded area until Stranding Response personnel arrives.
