After months undergoing rehabilitative care for life-threatening injuries at the New England Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital, 12 sea turtles were released on June 23 back into the waters off Cape Cod. The five Kemp’s ridleys, four loggerheads, and three green sea turtles were the first group of rehabilitated sea turtles released by the aquarium this summer.
For the past seven months, staff at the aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital in Quincy treated the hypothermic turtles for a variety of life-threatening medical conditions, including pneumonia, dehydration, and trauma. Staff veterinarians cleared the sea turtles to return to Nantucket Sound from West Dennis Beach, where the water temperature recently crossed the 65-degree threshold for the turtles to reacclimate in the ocean.
Loggerhead and Kemp’s ridley sea turtles are threatened or endangered species, facing threats including climate change, ocean pollution, and degradation of their habitats. Rescue and rehabilitation efforts help to conserve these species.
Aquarium staff, volunteers, and interns have a tradition of naming the turtles receiving long-term care, with this year’s theme being font-inspired names. Turtles released are named Kermit, Helvetica, Flipflops, Pretty Pretty Princess, Marigold, Westminster, Rage Italic, Pout, Zapfino, Verdana, Chunk, and Vivaldi.
“As we complete the first sea turtle release of the season, I’m reminded what this rescue and rehabilitation work makes possible,” said Adam Kennedy, director of rescue and rehabilitation at the New England Aquarium. “We dedicate months to the turtles’ recovery, and seeing them return to their ocean home off Cape Cod is the goal. This work is critical to the long-term survival of these species.”
Scientists from the aquarium’s research arm, the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, worked with the rescue team to tag the turtles for post-release monitoring. The tags collect information about the turtles’ behavior, habitat use, and survivorship, which helps inform sea turtle conservation and protection efforts, especially in New England where little is known about these species. This season, the team is using a combination of satellite tags for real-time data and acoustic tags for longer-term tracking; some of the turtles will be added to the aquarium’s Sea Turtle Tracker for the public to follow their journey.
During the 2025 cold-stunning season, the Aquarium treated nearly 500 live sea turtles that were rescued from the shores of Cape Cod from November to December by staff and volunteers with Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. Getting these turtles back to full health requires a collaborative effort between biologists, veterinarians and researchers. There are 29 turtles remaining at the aquarium’s Quincy center. Those will be released off Cape Cod this summer once medically cleared by aquarium veterinarians.
The New England Aquarium is a nonprofit research and conservation organization that has protected and cared for our ocean and marine animals for more than 55 years. We provide science-based solutions and help shape policies that create measurable change to address threats the ocean faces. We inspire action through discovery and help create engaged, resilient communities.
