Marine Turtle Records
Record Sightings & Strandings
Record a Marine Turtle Sighting or Stranding
Ireland’s seas are fortunate to host marine turtles as they make their ocean migrations seeking food and sometimes just meandering off course. 5 marine turtle species have been recorded in Irish waters:
- Leatherback Turtle
- Loggerhead Turtle
- Kemp’s Ridley Turtle
- Green Turtle
- Hawksbill Turtle
Of these, Leatherback Turtles are the most frequently recorded and Irish waters form part of its natural foraging range. The other species tend to be recorded as strandings, though at-sea records of loggerhead turtles have also been made.
As Ireland lies outside the natural range of most marine turtles (other than Leatherback) they are often found in a distressed and/or lethargic state when washed ashore here.
Records of all marine turtles, whether alive or dead, at sea or on the shore (stranded), should be recorded Using This Web Form, to contribute to the Irish Marine Turtle Database.
Do not put a small sea turtle back into the sea!
They require specialist rehabilitation at aquariums such as
- Galway Atlantaquaria (091) 585 100
- Dingle Oceanworld Aquarium (066) 915 2111
- Outside of aquarium hours, please call the IWDG hotline on 097 28118.
- Avoid towing entangled turtles to shore. They should be disentangled and released at sea wherever possible.
- Leatherback turtles should not be hauled aboard boats, disentangle with the animal in the water where possible.
- Never return a stranded turtle to the sea without first seeking professional advice.
- Keep dogs and people away from live stranded turtles, and remember…
- A stranded turtle that looks freshly dead may still be alive (but lethargic).
