Special to El Run-Rrun
Dr. Brian Stacy, of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which has jurisdiction over sea turtles in the Gulf – and the top NOAA Fisheries veterinarian/sea turtle pathologist – says necropsies on scores of stranded green turtles found off Boca chica Beach are consistent with drowning, as expected with capture in gillnets and has so far ruled out SpaceX pressurization tests as the cause.
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He said that although investigation of the green turtle strandings in the Boca Chica Beach area is ongoing, necropsy findings thus far exclude chemical poisoning resulting from the November 20 failed SpaceX Mk1 Starship prototype pressurization exercise that resulted in chemicals carried over the beach by strong winds.
More than 60 dead turtles were found stranded off Boca Chica and South Padre Island beaches after November 20, leading some to suspect that the failed SpaceX tests may have contribute to the killoff.
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"Although release of chemicals into the environment and ocean is unfortunate, I have not seen evidence to suggest that the sea turtle deaths are related to the rocket explosion," Stacy wrote.
"If turtles are affected by toxins, depending on the specific type of toxin, we generally expect to find other affected wildlife, and live turtles exhibiting abnormal clinical signs, or evidence of damage to affected organ systems.
" We have not found this during the recent strandings. The green turtles examined this far had all indications of having been in good general health prior to death."
Dr. Brian Stacy, of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which has jurisdiction over sea turtles in the Gulf – and the top NOAA Fisheries veterinarian/sea turtle pathologist – says necropsies on scores of stranded green turtles found off Boca chica Beach are consistent with drowning, as expected with capture in gillnets and has so far ruled out SpaceX pressurization tests as the cause.
He said that although investigation of the green turtle strandings in the Boca Chica Beach area is ongoing, necropsy findings thus far exclude chemical poisoning resulting from the November 20 failed SpaceX Mk1 Starship prototype pressurization exercise that resulted in chemicals carried over the beach by strong winds.More than 60 dead turtles were found stranded off Boca Chica and South Padre Island beaches after November 20, leading some to suspect that the failed SpaceX tests may have contribute to the killoff.
That SpaceX incident, which resulted in the release of a large quantity of vapor and cryogenic liquid, had been suspected by some social media to have caused some deaths, according to commenters on the Sea Turtle Inc. website.
"Although release of chemicals into the environment and ocean is unfortunate, I have not seen evidence to suggest that the sea turtle deaths are related to the rocket explosion," Stacy wrote."If turtles are affected by toxins, depending on the specific type of toxin, we generally expect to find other affected wildlife, and live turtles exhibiting abnormal clinical signs, or evidence of damage to affected organ systems.
" We have not found this during the recent strandings. The green turtles examined this far had all indications of having been in good general health prior to death."