Op 15 januari 2024 meldden RAVON en Diergaarde Blijdorp op Nature Today het aantreffen van zes zeeschildpadden, waarvan de meesten in december 2023 waren aangespoeld. Hierna werden nog negen nieuwe strandingen gemeld, waarmee het totaal op vijftien strandingen komt. Dit is een record en is uitzonderlijk hoog in vergelijking tot eerdere jaren. Dit artikel bevat een overzicht van de zeeschildpadstrandingen in de winter van 2023-2024 en geeft mogelijke oorzaken Extraordinary number of stranded sea turtles in the Netherlands winter 2023/2024 The number of washed up Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) doubled during the winter season of 2023-2024. Since the Middle Ages only 13 cases had been recorded in the Netherlands. On December 22, 2023, a visitor found the first stranded Loggerhead sea turtle at the ‘s Gravezande beach. Three more stranded in December, three in January and another three in February. There were two in April and one in June All but one of them were alive and taken to the Rotterdam Zoo for medical care. Dead specimens were taken to Naturalis Biodiversity Centre. On October 19, 2023, a live Kemp’s ridley turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) was caught by a fishing vessel. On December 17 a Kemps stranded alive on a beach. Both were also taken to the Rotterdam Zoo. The Rotterdam Zoo uses protocols developed by the New England Aquarium, Boston (USA). A veterinarian examines the sea turtles. Standard procedures include x-ray, blood tests and all necessary medical care. The turtles are put in water at 13°C. Step by step the temperature is raised to a maximum of 22°C. When the turtle looks healthy and its buoyancy is good, the turtle will be placed in a tank. Kemp’s ridley turtles are rehabilitated in the Gulf of Mexico and Loggerhead sea turtles in the Azores. Unfortunately, five Loggerheads died due to a fatal malfunction in the water temperature control system. Genetic research on the loggerhead sea turtles showed their origin of nesting. Ten turtles were from Cape Verde, two from Florida and one Mediterranean. Most populations have increased in recent decades. The explanation for the extraordinary number of stranded sea turtles is probably the higher water temperatures and changed current patterns in the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean

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M. de Boer, & E. Goverse. (2024). Groot aantal strandingen van zeeschildpadden op de Nederlandse kust. RAVON, 26(4), 64–67.