The Turtle Hospital recently hosted the annual Sea Turtle Workshop Weekend where people from all around the world came to Marathon to learn how to better help sea turtles survive. Individuals who work with sea turtles in the medical, rehabilitation, captive and long term care fields came together to share ideas, procedures, cases and techniques. This year, The Turtle Hospital hosted 110 attendees representing 42 different organizations from 5 different countries.

A full day of lectures and presentations were held at The Marathon Government Center where information on sea turtle medicine, rehabilitation, captive care, captive diet as well as interesting cases were discussed. These presentations allow biologists, veterinarians, professors, students and other professionals involved in the study and rehabilitation of sea turtles to learn from one another and share pertinent information. The Turtle Hospital also hosted a hands-on necropsy lab and sea turtle anatomy/physiology lab. The first lab conducted was the “Sea Turtle Proper Biopsy/Sampling Collecting” with Dr. Brian Stacy from the University of Florida. The second lab was held by Dr. Douglas Mader and Dr. Jeanette Wyneken and focused on the anatomy/physiology of sea turtles.

In addition to the workshop, Save-A-Turtle, a volunteer organization in the Keys that monitors sea turtle nesting beaches, hosted a dinner party for the attendees. After an informative day filled with presentations and labs, attendees were able to fill their stomachs with burgers, hot dogs and dessert adjacent to the sea turtle enclosure. An auction was also held to support WIDECAST, a grant program that helps train veterinarians from around the world in sea turtle medicine and care.  Many of these participating veterinarians donate their time to help conserve sea turtles in areas that offer little protection for sea turtles.

The Turtle Hospital staff would like to thank all who attended and helped make this event possible. We hope to see you again next year!