ML21103A233
| ML21103A233 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Saint Lucie  |
| Issue date: | 04/13/2021 |
| From: | Weege S Inwater Research Group |
| To: | Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| References | |
| Download: ML21103A233 (10) | |
Text
From: Steve Weege <sweege@inwater.org>
Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2021 6:48 AM To: Koperski, Meghan Cc: Ed Hollowell; Jodie_Gless@fpl.com; Ken_Frehafer@fpl.com; Marine Turtle Permits; Michael Bresette; EndangeredSpecies Resource; SCO@dep.state.fl.us; Vince Munne; Cody Mott; Jeff Guertin; Ryan Welsh; Eaton, Kristin; Jonathon Gorham; William.Nurnberger@fpl.com; audra.livergood@noaa.gov; Sciscente, Richard; Seth.Duston@fpl.com
Subject:
[External_Sender] March 2021 FPL Marine Turtle Removal Monthly Report Attachments: March 2021 Marine Turtle Captures.pdf; Monthly Report Notes 2021.pdf; FPL St. Lucie Capture Summary 2021.pdf Mrs. Meghan Koperski Tequesta Field Laboratory 19100 SE Federal Highway Tequesta, FL 33469
Subject:
Marine Turtle Removal Monthly Summary March 2021
Dear Meghan,
Attached, please find the monthly summary of marine turtle removals for March 2021. This month we captured 32 Caretta caretta, seven Chelonia mydas, and one Eretmochelys imbricata in the intake canal of the St. Lucie power plant on Hutchinson Island. Seven sea turtles were sent for rehabilitation (six non-causal, one causal) and there were no mortalities during the month of March. As with all sea turtle strandings at the Saint Lucie Plant, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) was consulted and stranding forms were filed with the state through the Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network.
Five loggerheads and one hawksbill were sent to rehab facilities for non-causal injuries or illnesses this month. One subadult and three adult male loggerheads were sent for rehabilitation for chronic debilitation. Another adult male loggerhead and an adult female hawksbill were sent for the treatment of shark attack injuries (sustained prior to entrainment into the intake canal). All turtles were sent to either the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach or the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton for rehabilitation. Because these turtles had injuries or illnesses that were unrelated to the power plant, they were classified as non-causal.
There was one causal injury this month. On March 24th, a juvenile green turtle was recovered from the intake wells with injuries to the carapace, likely sustained from the mechanical cleaning rakes. There were two breaks in the posterior carapace and the turtle was nutritionally compromised (severely underweight). Immediately after workup, the turtle was taken to the staff veterinarians at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center for examination and initial treatment. It was later transferred to the rehab facility at the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center where it is responding well to treatment.
The primary 5-inch barrier net encountered light amounts of algae and moderate-to-severe quantities of jellyfish throughout the month. In response, IRG biologists performed around-the- clock monitoring of the intake canal and barrier net system either as warranted by sufficiently high debris intrusion levels or whenever directed by FPL oversight personnel. Following the recovery of a juvenile green turtle in the
intake wells, Underwater Engineering Services Inc. divers inspected the primary barrier and the net was found to be in good working order. This turtle was particularly small, even in comparison to others that have been found in the intake wells before, and therefore was likely able to pass through the mesh of the barrier net relatively unimpeded.
The tag numbers and morphometric data for all turtles captured during the month have been included with this report (see attachments/addendums). Also included is a spreadsheet for all captures, mortalities, injuries, and causal events delineated by species and by month for 2021. In addition, this spreadsheet tracks fresh scrapes incurred on captured turtles for the current month, as well as the entire year.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
Sincerely, Steve Steve Weege Sr. Environmental Specialist Inwater Research Group, Inc.
4160 NE Hyline Dr.
Jensen Beach, FL 34957 sweege@inwater.org (772) 349-7252
Hearing Identifier: NRR_DRMA Email Number: 1120 Mail Envelope Properties (CAOA4+R+u-_vH_3oHmVMy_zpw4y1v_OmyXN3y4E_9ms=ALaSV4Q)
Subject:
[External_Sender] March 2021 FPL Marine Turtle Removal Monthly Report Sent Date: 4/13/2021 6:48:21 AM Received Date: 4/13/2021 6:48:40 AM From: Steve Weege Created By: sweege@inwater.org Recipients:
"Ed Hollowell" <Ed.Hollowell@fpl.com>
Tracking Status: None "Jodie_Gless@fpl.com" <Jodie_Gless@fpl.com>
Tracking Status: None "Ken_Frehafer@fpl.com" <Ken_Frehafer@fpl.com>
Tracking Status: None "Marine Turtle Permits" <MTP@myfwc.com>
Tracking Status: None "Michael Bresette" <mbresette@inwater.org>
Tracking Status: None "EndangeredSpecies Resource" <EndangeredSpecies.Resource@nrc.gov>
Tracking Status: None "SCO@dep.state.fl.us" <SCO@dep.state.fl.us>
Tracking Status: None "Vince Munne" <Vince.Munne@fpl.com>
Tracking Status: None "Cody Mott" <cmott@inwater.org>
Tracking Status: None "Jeff Guertin" <jguertin@gmail.com>
Tracking Status: None "Ryan Welsh" <rwelsh@inwater.org>
Tracking Status: None "Eaton, Kristin" <Kristin.Eaton@fpl.com>
Tracking Status: None "Jonathon Gorham" <jgorham@inwater.org>
Tracking Status: None "William.Nurnberger@fpl.com" <William.Nurnberger@fpl.com>
Tracking Status: None "audra.livergood@noaa.gov" <audra.livergood@noaa.gov>
Tracking Status: None "Sciscente, Richard" <Richard.Sciscente@fpl.com>
Tracking Status: None "Seth.Duston@fpl.com" <Seth.Duston@fpl.com>
Tracking Status: None "Koperski, Meghan" <Meghan.Koperski@myfwc.com>
Tracking Status: None Post Office: mail.gmail.com Files Size Date & Time MESSAGE 3493 4/13/2021 6:48:40 AM
March 2021 Marine Turtle Captures.pdf 265318 Monthly Report Notes 2021.pdf 190454 FPL St. Lucie Capture Summary 2021.pdf 253633 Options Priority: Normal Return Notification: No Reply Requested: No Sensitivity: Normal Expiration Date:
MARINE TURTLE REMOVALS ST. LUCIE PLANT INTAKE CANAL MARCH 2021 Date Species Note Tag #'s SMCL SSCL CSCL CMCW SMCW SMPL Weight Method (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (kg) 3/2/2021 Caretta caretta 1 KKY164/KKY165 91.7 93.1 100.1 89.1 73.3 71.4 123.7 North net 3/3/2021 Caretta caretta 2 KKL0680/KKL0681 64.1 64.8 68.0 63.4 54.1 48.2 35.9 North net 3/4/2021 Eretmochelys 3 SAC210304-001 79.0 82.3 85.9 73.0 55.8 62.3 66.7 North net imbricata 3/6/2021 Caretta caretta KKY166/KKY167 55.2 56.2 69.6 68.6 55.6 52.6 39.8 North net 3/8/2021 Caretta caretta KKY168/KKY169 64.0 65.4 68.3 66.5 56.0 51.4 42.7 North net 3/9/2021 Caretta caretta KKY170/KKY171 62.8 64.0 66.5 63.9 53.9 49.4 37.4 North net 3/9/2021 Caretta caretta KKY172/KKY173 69.5 70.5 73.0 67.6 54.5 54.8 43.4 North net 3/9/2021 Chelonia mydas KKY174/KKY175 49.0 49.4 52.0 46.1 40.7 42.2 14.0 South net 3/9/2021 Caretta caretta 4 KKY176/KKY177 98.5 99.9 104.5 96.9 76.2 73.4 165.0 Barrier net 3/9/2021 Caretta caretta KKY178/KKY179 58.2 59.2 62.8 61.6 49.6 44.9 28.0 North net 3/10/2021 Caretta caretta 5 CMB210310-001 96.0 97.3 102.0 94.0 71.0 67.3 Barrier net 3/10/2021 Caretta caretta KKY180/KKY181 62.3 63.5 67.4 66.0 52.7 45.7 31.7 North net 3/10/2021 Caretta caretta KKY182/KKY183 64.8 66.4 70.0 65.9 54.5 51.4 42.2 North net 3/11/2021 Caretta caretta 6 CMB210311-001 101.1 102.5 106.4 97.4 75.8 73.5 145.8 North net 3/11/2021 Caretta caretta 7 KKG381/KKG382 91.9 93.9 98.7 86.2 69.5 66.0 113.4 North net
Date Species Note Tag #'s SMCL SSCL CSCL CMCW SMCW SMPL Weight Method (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (kg) 3/11/2021 Caretta caretta KKY184/KKY185 70.4 71.8 73.5 70.0 58.1 54.2 53.2 North net 3/11/2021 Caretta caretta KKY186/KKY187 74.0 75.2 82.5 76.0 58.8 56.5 61.0 North net 3/11/2021 Caretta caretta KKY188/KKY189 59.9 60.9 65.2 61.8 50.1 47.5 31.6 North net 3/12/2021 Caretta caretta KKY192/KKY193 61.9 62.9 66.9 62.4 50.9 48.8 37.1 North net 3/13/2021 Caretta caretta 8 ANS210313-001 87.9 88.4 93.2 82.6 66.3 62.0 82.2 North net 3/13/2021 Caretta caretta KKY190/KKY191 69.8 70.9 75.2 73.1 56.3 55.2 51.3 North net 3/13/2021 Caretta caretta KKY194/KKY195 70.3 71.8 75.3 73.1 58.9 56.8 53.8 North net 3/14/2021 Chelonia mydas 9 KKL0776/KKY196 47.4 47.6 50.1 42.3 36.0 38.5 13.4 North net 3/14/2021 Caretta caretta 10 KKY197/KKY198 85.8 88.5 91.3 84.0 67.0 68.0 90.8 North net 3/14/2021 Caretta caretta KKY199/KKY200 66.5 68.0 71.0 69.7 56.4 52.9 47.7 South net 3/14/2021 Caretta caretta KKY201/KKY202 65.8 66.4 70.4 71.0 54.3 52.7 40.5 North net 3/20/2021 Caretta caretta KKY203/KKY204 67.2 68.6 72.6 70.3 54.6 52.7 42.5 South net 3/21/2021 Caretta caretta 11 CMB210321-001 70.5 72.4 77.2 75.1 58.2 55.5 39.6 Barrier net 3/23/2021 Chelonia mydas KKY205 45.9 46.2 47.9 39.6 34.8 37.3 10.8 South net 3/24/2021 Chelonia mydas 12 ANS210324-001 25.9 26.3 27.5 22.4 20.4 20.9 1.5 Intake well 3/24/2021 Caretta caretta KKY206/KKY207 69.6 71.0 74.9 71.1 59.2 53.7 50.0 North net 3/24/2021 Chelonia mydas KKY208/KKY209 64.9 65.3 68.2 63.3 52.5 55.8 36.6 North net 3/25/2021 Caretta caretta KKY210/KKY211 73.5 74.8 78.3 71.9 59.6 58.9 59.8 North net 3/25/2021 Caretta caretta KKY212/KKY213 62.5 64.3 67.5 65.4 55.8 50.3 36.9 South net 3/25/2021 Caretta caretta KKY214/KKY215 69.6 70.6 73.0 71.4 59.1 53.8 48.3 South net
Date Species Note Tag #'s SMCL SSCL CSCL CMCW SMCW SMPL Weight Method (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (kg) 3/25/2021 Caretta caretta KKY216/KKY217 65.3 66.4 70.3 69.6 55.5 53.0 42.9 North net 3/26/2021 Chelonia mydas 13 KKY048/KKY049 36.8 37.0 38.7 32.5 25.7 29.2 6.0 South net 3/26/2021 Chelonia mydas KKY218/KKY219 33.5 34.1 35.5 31.0 27.8 28.2 4.6 South net 3/27/2021 Caretta caretta KKY220/KKY221 63.4 64.9 68.1 64.6 52.8 50.1 36.5 South net 3/28/2021 Caretta caretta 14 KKL0516 65.0 66.8 70.4 66.7 53.6 50.2 34.4 South net
NOTES
- 1. Adult female loggerhead. Tail length = 215 mm.
- 2. RECAPTURE. Turtle was removed from the intake canal, tagged and released at Hutchinson Island on 8/23/19, 12/15/19, 1/19/20, 7/24/20, and 3/3/21. Old healed shark bite in left posterior carapace.
- 3. REHAB (NON-CAUSAL). Stranding# SAC210304-001. Adult female hawksbill (tail length = 182 mm) caught in the tangle nets with extensive shark attack wounds. Bone exposed in left rear flipper from deep gash and shark rakings in all flippers and inguinal area. Body condition was good as injuries were sustained relatively recently. Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC) biologists transported this turtle for rehab.
- 4. REHAB (NON-CAUSAL). Stranding# TBC210309-001. Lethargic adult male loggerhead (tail length =
536 mm) captured at the barrier net. Tagged prior to rehab determination. Turtle had a soft plastron and, despite not being underweight, the heartbeat was visible. Turtle wouldn't crawl to the water when attempted to release. Picked up by LMC staff for triage and overnight observation. Turtle later succumbed to pneumonia.
- 5. REHAB (NON-CAUSAL). Stranding# CMB210310-001. Severely emaciated and lethargic adult male loggerhead (tail length = 500 mm) recovered from the primary 5-inch barrier net. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) sea turtle stranding coordinator picked up and transported the turtle to the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center (GLNC) in Boca Raton for rehab. Weight estimated at 85 kg.
- 6. REHAB (NON-CAUSAL). Stranding# CMB210311-001. Adult male loggerhead (tail length = 370 mm) captured in the tangle nets with extensive shark attack injuries. Turtle missing 75% of right front flipper with broken humerus bone exposed. Turtle also missing 40% of right rear flipper from recent shark bite.
There was some caseous material present indicating that the shark attack injuries were already beginning to heal and therefore occurred prior to entrainment. The FWC Stranding Coordinator transported this turtle to GLNC for rehab.
- 7. Adult male loggerhead. Tail length = 460 mm. RECAPTURE. Turtle was removed from the intake canal, tagged and released at Hutchinson Island on 4/20/19, 5/7/19, and 3/11/21.
- 8. REHAB (NON-CAUSAL). Stranding# ANS210313-001. Underweight and lethargic adult male loggerhead (tail length = 465 mm) recovered from the tangle nets. FWC transported this turtle to LMC for rehab.
- 9. RECAPTURE. Turtle was removed from the intake canal, tagged and released at Hutchinson Island on 9/21/19 and 3/14/21.
- 10. Adult female loggerhead. Tail length = 175 mm.
- 11. REHAB (NON-CAUSAL). Stranding# CMB210321-001. Emaciated and lethargic subadult loggerhead recovered from atop the permanent 5-inch barrier net in the morning. Turtle missing 75% of left front flipper (healed). Heavy epibiont coverage and carbuncle on dorsal side of neck. Ecological Associates biologists transported this animal to GLNC for rehab.
- 12. REHAB (CAUSAL). Stranding# ANS210324-001. Juvenile green turtle recovered from the intake wells with injuries to the carapace, likely sustained from the mechanical cleaning rakes; there were two 1-2 cm breaks in the posterior carapace. The turtle also had a healing 3 cm cut in its right axilla and was severely underweight. Immediately after workup, the turtle was taken to the staff veterinarians at LMC for examination and initial treatment. After it was stabilized, the turtle was transferred to GLNC for continued treatment/rehabilitation.
- 13. RECAPTURE. Turtle was removed from the intake canal, tagged and released at Hutchinson Island on 9/20/19, 11/9/20, and 3/26/21.
- 14. RECAPTURE. Turtle was removed from the intake canal, tagged and released at Hutchinson Island on 5/5/19, 8/5/19, 5/19/20, 8/17/20, and 3/28/21. Old healed irregular-shaped injury in left side of carapace (12cm x 3cm piece missing). Healed wound in right anterior carapace (7cm x 8cm), possibly from an old boat strike.
SMCL = Straight Minimum Carapace Length SMCL = Straight Standard Carapace Length CSCL = Curved Standard Carapace Length CMCW = Curved Maximum Carapace Width SMCW = Straight Maximum Carapace Width SMPL = Straight Midline Plastron Length
Loggerheads Green turtles Hawksbills Leatherbacks Kemp's ridley (Chelonia (Eretmochelys (Dermochelys (Lepidochelys (Caretta caretta) mydas) imbricata) coriacea) kempii) Overall Totals Year to Year to Year to Year to Year to Year to Mar-21 Date Mar-21 Date Mar-21 Date Mar-21 Date Mar-21 Date Mar-21 Date Captures 32 50 7 27 1 1 0 0 0 3 40 81 Causal Mortalities 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Non-causal Mortalities 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Causal Injuries 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Sent to rehab 5 9 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 7 11 Fresh Year to Year to Year to Year to Year to Year to Scrapes Mar- Date Mar- Date Mar- Date Mar- Date Mar- Date Mar- Date None 6 6 1 5 1 1 0 0 0 1 8 13 Minor 25 43 6 22 0 0 0 0 0 2 31 67 Moderate 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 Severe 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Percent with mod/sev scrapes 3.1% 2.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% N/A N/A N/A 0.0% 2.5% 1.2%