Sea turtle strandings on the US east coast have increased drastically

The number of cold-stunned sea turtles washing up on Cape Cod in Massachusetts has increased from dozens to hundreds within four decades

Life



27 February 2023

By Corryn Wetzel

A growing number of sea turtles have been washing up each year on the beaches of Cape Cod. This Massachusetts peninsula is the site of the world’s largest recurring annual sea turtle stranding. The spike may be linked to warming ocean currents, which can carry more turtles into frigid Atlantic waters.

Each winter, hundreds of volunteers comb beaches on Cape Cod for sea turtles that have succumbed to hypothermia. Stunned by the cold, they can’t swim and are …