JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – On Wednesday morning, News4JAX received photos of what appeared to be pieces of a sea creature spread across Jacksonville Beach near 17th Avenue North.
At first, some thought they were parts of a whale. But, News4JAX confirmed with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) that they were parts of a leatherback sea turtle.
The leatherback sea turtle, the largest turtle species in the world, is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. According to NOAA, it is estimated that the global population has declined by 40% over the past three generations.
You can see how large they can get from this 2006 photo. They can weigh up to 2,200 pounds and grow up to 5.5 feet long.
FWC says it has found eight parts on the beach so far and is investigating what happened — and so is the Army Corps of Engineers.
The Army Corps of Engineers is doing a beach renourishment using an offshore dredge in the area, but it said it found no evidence the leatherback was killed due to their equipment.
“When dredging occurs there are posted observers. During the time of dredging on June 4 there was no sighting of marine life on or offshore near the dredging site. If marine life were to be caught in the dredging process it would not look like the remains of the leatherback turtle that were found,” said spokeswoman for the Jacksonville U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Michelle Roberts.
FWC will do a necropsy on the mutilated remains to try to determine how the turtle was killed.
It’s possible that a vessel collision is to blame.
Tracy Uliano, the viewer who sent News4JAX photos of the carcass, said seeing the remains on Tuesday kept her out of the water for the rest of the day.
“My husband and I went to the beach yesterday...and we were swimming in the water and we saw some large object floating in the water,” she said. “Later on as it got closer we were like oh no that’s not a shirt, that’s a piece of some animal.”
Another beachgoer, Randall Duncan, saw the same thing. He’s concerned.
“I was just concerned that it got caught in a propellor or something like that in the ocean. I was disappointed to see it,” he said.
Marjorie Fishman with the Animal Welfare Institute said if a person deliberately butchered the sea turtle, it would be a violation that could result in penalties such as probation, a fine, or jail time.