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Surf Guru Forum > On The Shore > Plastic and Tar Found in Stomachs of Sea Turtles Stranded on Brevard Beaches

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10/7/2010 6:19:55 AM Buddha

Plastic and Tar Found in Stomachs of Sea Turtles Stranded on Brevard Beaches

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For media inquiries, contact:

Marlis Humphrey, BEACH AID Marketing

(321) 480-3481 or marlis@vitreouscom.com

Plastic and Tar Found in Stomachs of Sea Turtles Stranded on Brevard Beaches

Two Local Ninth Graders Want to Make a Difference: Organize BEACH AID 2010 Benefit

MELBOURNE, Fla. – October 6, 2010 – Local 14-year-old girls from West Shore High School, Olivia Humphrey and Aubrey Johnson, today announced BEACH AID 2010, a concert and beach festival to benefit Brevard beaches. BEACH AID 2010 will be held on Saturday, October 16, at Ocean Park on A1A in Melbourne Beach and the adjacent restaurant, Sand on the Beach. Doors for the event will open at 11:30 a.m., with music beginning at approximately 12:00 p.m. In addition to music from 9 bands, there will be environmental exhibits and several beach activities including: volleyball; paddleboarding; surf, skim, kite and indo boarding demos; kite flying; sand sculpting; gyotaku; bracelet craft; and more. Tickets may be purchased online at www.BEACHAID2010.org for a $5 donation or upon entry for $10; children under 9 years of age are free.

The girls are rallying local musicians, businesses, and like-minded environmentalists and surfing enthusiasts to unite in a day of great music to protect Brevard’s beaches. They originally planned to save turtles in Brevard County from any oil that may have made it over from the gulf oil spill. Fortunately, the oil didn’t arrive, but the girls, both volunteers at the Barrier Island Center, learned that turtles were already dying in alarming numbers according to a recent study.

Each September and October, Brevard County beaches receive strandings of juvenile sea turtles that swam away after hatching on land weeks ago, but that later wash in with stormy weather. Many of these turtles are dead. A recent analysis of the stomach contents of these turtles shows that they are filled with plastic and tar. “Of 274 loggerheads and green turtles examined in recent years, 83% had injested foreign materials. Synthetic debris made up more than a third of what the turtles had eaten,” said Dr. Blair Witherington, research scientist at the FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI). “The plastics come from litter, broken into small pieces by the sun and waves.”

“Every wayward plastic bag or discarded bottle could easily end up where a turtle could eat it and suffer the consequences. This marine litter starts with trash left on our beaches or thrown from boats and ends up killing the very hatchlings we work so hard to protect with our May through October “Lights Out” rules and nest protection regulations,” said BEACH AID organizer and co-chair, Melbourne Beach 14-year-old Olivia Humphrey. BEACH AID is calling on concertgoers to have a great time at the event and celebrate our Brevard beaches, but remember to secure all waste, including plastics, in BEACH AID recycle and waste containers. “International coastal clean-up days are great – but let’s stop litter in its tracks – before it becomes a clean-up problem,” said fellow BEACH AID organizer and co-chair, Satellite Beach 14-year-old Aubrey Johnson. “Don’t forget! One easily left-behind bottle can kill several hatchlings. We don’t want to end up creating a situation like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.”

Funds raised through BEACH AID will be given to Sea Turtle Conservancy which has agreed to dispense the funds solely for conservation within the regions of the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge. “Founded by Archie Carr himself, Sea Turtle Conservancy has been working for decades to protect Brevard County beaches for sea turtles,” said David Godfrey, executive director Sea Turtle Conservancy. “We have made great strides to protect sea turtles when they come ashore to nest, but marine pollution and other man-made threats are making it hard for sea turtles to survive at sea. Through BEACH AID, we are hoping to raise awareness about these issues and get everyone to do their part.”

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Beach AID 2010 2¾2¾2¾2

About BEACH AID

BEACH AID is a music benefit concert whose mission is to clean-up and conserve – save and celebrate our beaches. BEACH AID, with the support of dozens of local musicians, businesses, and like-minded environmental organizations and surfing enthusiasts, aims to increase awareness to stop litter in its tracks and to raise funds for additional education, conservation, and clean-up of our Brevard beaches. For more information about BEACH AID and to purchase tickets, visit www.BEACHAID2010.org.

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