An ordinary, late-night walk on the beaches of Topsail Island can turn into an extraordinary evening if you are lucky enough to come upon a 350-pound Loggerhead sea turtle digging her nest in the sand. Insiders know exactly what to do if they see a sea turtle on the beach: Turn off any lights, take the dog back to the truck and call the "Turtle Lady," as Jean Beasley is affectionately known on the island.
Jean Beasley is the Director of the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center, which is dedicated to rescuing sea turtles and educating the public about these marvelous creatures. Within minutes someone from the center arrives and sits quietly to observe and protect the turtle without disturbing her ancient rite of passage.
Sea turtles are prehistoric creatures who have been swimming in the oceans for 115 million years. Year after year they return to their coastal nesting area to lay their eggs beneath the sand. As many as 120 eggs are buried before the mother lumbers back into the breaking surf and disappears. She repeats this arduous ordeal four to five times during the summer. Only one in a thousand of these baby hatchlings will survive to adulthood.
First the hatchling must dig itself out of the sand, turn toward the ocean and navigate its way down the beach and into the surf. It must immediately overcome a hostile environment of tire ruts in the sand, litter and lights. The baby turtles make their primal journey to the sea at night to avoid natural predators, but our beaches are no longer dark. Instead, they are lighted by resorts and residential development. In an undeveloped, moonlit setting the ocean would be lighter than the land and the hatchling would instinctively move toward the light. Beasley and her band of volunteers have worked tirelessly to educate people to turn off outside lighting in the hatching season, which is from May 1 to October 31.
The education process has been so effective that one of the island's largest resort condominium complexes, the St. Regis, has agreed to turn off the lights along their section of beach-front. Despite these inroads, humans continue to be the most caustic factor in the endangerment of sea turtles. While many people point their fingers at commercial fishing as the culprit, Beasley is quick to point out that we all play a role in the degradation of the marine environment. Litter, like Styrofoam cups, plastic bottles, plastic six-pack rings, cigarette butts, abandoned fishing lines and nets are all deadly to sea turtles, who can either ingest them or becomes entangled in them and drown. More sea turtles receive impact injuries from recreational boats than from any other source. Long-line hooks offshore, set nets, as well as toxins from agriculture, farming and landscaping run-off also endanger marine life.
From its founding in the early 1990s, the Topsail Island Turtle Project has grown to include a turtle hospital, an interns' house, scores of volunteers and international recognition as a sea turtle haven and expert resource. With no paid staff, including Beasley, and interns who receive only housing with no stipend, it is immediately apparent that dedication, compassion and hard work are what run the center. Funded primarily by private donations that range from school kids' coins to major gifts of several thousand dollars, the project puts 100 percent of donations to work for the turtles. Grants are sought for specific programs, like the satellite-tagging program that will study the relatively unknown migratory patterns of sea turtles. Five of the world's seven species of sea turtles have been found in the waters off Topsail Island.
The turtle hospital is cramped, humid and smells of the ocean. Several plastic tanks of varying sizes house the "patients." CJ, one of the most well-known former patients here, had the biggest tub. CJ is a Loggerhead who is at least 50 years old. He came ashore on Ocean Isle in October of 2002 and was observed struggling in the surf for several days to the dismay of volunteers who could not capture him. He finally washed ashore in an emaciated state covered with leeches and barnacles. With sunken eyes and barely enough flesh left to cover his bones, he was brought to the turtle hospital. Beasley speculated that he was too large to escape through the turtle excluder device that commercial fishing boats have on their drag nets. If a sea turtle breathes in water it will become what's known as a floater. Unable to dive or hunt for food, it will slowly starve to death, and this is probably what would have happened to CJ if he had not been rescued. With tender care at the turtle hospital, CJ regained his strength and grandeur. His release back into the ocean was an emotional and triumphant act of closure for both CJ and those who so lovingly nursed him back to health.
Turtle releases on Topsail Island often draw large crowds of spectators who share in the feel-good moment of glory. The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center is at 822 Carolina Boulevard in Topsail Beach. For more information visit their website at www.seaturtlehospital.org. Also see our write-up about the center in our Attractions chapter.
