After a glorious morning walking their newest nature trail, feasting on potluck in the Friends community room and holding a brief annual meeting, Gary Johnson, outgoing president of the Mattapoisett Land Trust, introduced Kathy Zagzebski, executive director of the National Marine Wildlife Center.
Zagzebski was on a mission – a mission to educate humans on their dramatic impact on oceanic wildlife, and how that impact can help or hurt the animals.
Beginning with an explanation of the work of the National Marine Wildlife Center located in Buzzards Bay and then moving on to the types of endangered species that live in close proximity in and around Cape Cod, Zagzebski held the MLT members’ attention from beginning to end for a solid informative hour.
Zagzebski said the work done at the center is to provide medical attention to injured or stranded turtles and seals. She explained that Cape Cod is a “stranding hotspot” with dozens of seals and hundreds of dolphins and turtles being treated each year due to a variety of medical and environmental issues.
In 2014 alone, 1,232 turtles were recovered from the Cape Cod area suffering from either injury or disease. With the combined assistance of the Massachusetts Audubon Society, New England Aquarium, NOAA, USFWS and Zagzebski’s organization, 71 percent lived. However, due to a lack of “beds” available at the local level, 60 percent of those animals had to be transported to other states that could provide medical attention. This 2014 event, she said, “overwhelmed the stranding network.” She said it takes months to rehabilitate sick or injured turtles, further straining available services.
On the theme of what can we do to help, Zagzebski told the MLT members to share with people in the community who to contact should they find a turtle in distress and, more importantly, to keep trash and plastic out of the ocean environment.
Sadly, Zagzebski said that more than 50 percent of turtles taken into care are found to have plastic in the digestive systems.
“Turtles feed on jelly fish. A plastic bag underwater looks and moves like a jelly fish,” she said. One of the primary foods of all ocean turtles is the jellyfish.
Zagzebski also spoke of the plight of seals throughout the area. She said the National Marine Wildlife Center is the only seal hospital in all of New England, but it has very little capacity in terms of the number of animals that can receive care at any given time. Humans and human activities are the primary reasons seals sustain injury or suffer a negative impact, she noted, with seal pup disturbance at the top of the list.
When a harbor seal hunts, she will leave her pup in a location she is well aware of – a specific location selected to give the pup maximum protection while she is fishing. These adorable pups are often perceived as being abandoned and are collected by good-intentioned humans who do all the wrong things in their zealous efforts to provide aid. “Leave them alone,” Zagzebski said.
Zagzebski provided important contact information to share with everyone. If you find a seal or seal pup living or deceased, call the IFAW at 508-743-9548. If you find an ocean turtle in similar condition, contact the Massachusetts Audubon Society at 508-349-2615.
Zagzebski’s parting words were, “Keep trash out of the environment, spread the word about seals and turtles, and volunteer time and resources…”
The National Marine Wildlife Center’s website is http://nmlc.org.
By Marilou Newell
