Rescued sea turtles go to Cedar Key for release

TAMPA, Fla. - A group of endangered sea turtles can't go home, but they can go back into the wild.

Eight juvenile Kemp's Ridley sea turtles have been under constant care at the Florida Aquarium for the past two weeks. The turtles were oil-covered and rescued from Louisiana.

"Later on, they will be the ones nesting on the beaches. We need to make sure they can pull through and survive," said Veterinary Technician Susan Coy. She has helped care for the turtles. Coy said the turtles have undergone blood testing and have received the all-clear to swim and hunt in the wild.

Coy said sea turtles are normally released where they were found. In this case, she says Louisiana is still to unstable in the oil spill crisis, so the turtles were scheduled to be set free in Cedar key Wednesday morning.

They will join about 20 other sea turtles from other care facilities in the gulf coast region. Coy said, "It's close enough to where they were picked up but far away from the oil."

Coy said it is possible that more oil affected sea turtles will arrive at the Florida Aquarium in Tampa in the coming week.