Mote Marine removed a dead sea turtle from Manatee beach. It wasn’t the only one, officials say

A boat strike was the suspected cause of death for a sea turtle recovered from Manatee County waters on Friday.

The turtle was identified as a sub-adult loggerhead sea turtle. Evidence suggested it was struck by a boat, according to Mote Marine public relations manager Hayley Rutger.

The loggerhead was not the only dead turtle to be recovered from the Sarasota-Manatee area, Rutger said.

In the last two days, Mote Marine crews have recovered 13 dead turtles from the region. Red tide and human interaction are the leading causes of turtle deaths in the area, according to Rutger.

“Some of these were suspected to have been affected by humans, some by red tide and some by other circumstances,” Rutger said. “We do necropsies and take samples for processing at other labs to learn as much as we can.”

In the case of a human-related sea turtle death, Mote Marine notifies the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission to investigate.

Since the beginning of 2018, Mote Marine has recovered more than 130 dead, sick or injured sea turtles.

To report a sick, injured or stranded sea turtle in Sarasota or Manatee County, call Mote Marine’s Stranding Investigations Program at 941-988-0212.