Senator Ed Markey and New England Aquarium staff release rehabilitated turtles into Cape Cod waters

BOSTON, Mass. (WLNE) — Senator Ed Markey joined New England Aquarium staff on Tuesday to release five rehabilitated sea turtles back into ocean water off the coast of Cape Cod.

The turtles spent several months at the aquarium’s sea turtle hospital in Quincy, undergoing treatment for hypothermia related conditions.

After physical examinations, staff veterinarians cleared the sea turtles to return to Nantucket sound off of West Dennis Beach yesterday.

The five turtles included a 100-pound loggerhead named Marsh Mallow, and four Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles named Tulip, Lupin, Bluebonnet, and Violet.

Markey has introduced the Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance and Rehabilitation Act in the efforts to establish a $30 million grant program to help rescue, rehabilitate, and research stranded sea turtles.

The legislation recently moved out of the Senate Commerce Committee by unanimous consent in late July.

Senator Ed Markey joins New England Aquarium staff on Tuesday, August 6, to release five rehabilitated sea turtles into Cape Cod waters. (Courtesy of New England Aquarium)