STAR-Sea Turtle Assistance and Rescue

In 2025, STAR documented the highest number of sea turtle strandings and disorientations ever recorded in the USVI. As green turtle nesting numbers continue to rise, more turtles are becoming vulnerable to ongoing threats across the territory. This 2025 data highlights the challenges sea turtles are currently facing and the need for awareness and strategies to protect them in the USVI.

🚨Please remember to limit lights on the beach during nesting and hatching season. And if you see a turtle in distress or hatchlings going to the wrong way, please call our stranding hotline at 340-690-0474.

Another successful sea turtle stranding training on St. John! ✨ Thank you to everyone who attended and a big thank you to Friends of Virgin Islands National Park for hosting. We are so grateful to have wonderful partners across the USVI who share our passion for sea turtle conservation.

🩵 For more information about STAR please visit stxturtles.com/sea-turtle-rescue.

🚨 If you see a sea turtle in distress please call our 24/7 hotline at 340-690-0474.

STAR recently responded to a call about sea turtle hatchlings that had become disoriented by lights and ended up in a swimming pool. After swimming for hours, the turtles were exhausted. Our team reached out to our friends at Blue Salt Divers, who helped bring the hatchlings farther offshore (shown in video) so they could catch a current and begin their journey. We’re so grateful for Blue Salt Divers’ continued support from helping during sea turtle rescues to their recent generous donation, all of which helps us continue the work we do. 😊

🚨 If you see a sea turtle in distress please call our 24/7 hotline at 340-690-0474.

Trick or treat? 🎃 A treat for early morning patrollers! Hatchling tracks crossing over the crawl of a nesting hawksbill - a reminder that sea turtle nesting season in the USVI isn’t over.

🚨 Please remember to limit lights on the beach during nesting and hatching season. And if you see a turtle in distress or hatchlings going the wrong way, please call our stranding hotline at 340-690-0474.

If you find a stranded, injured, or deceased sea turtle in the U.S. Virgin Islands, please call STAR immediately at 340-690-0474. Sea turtles are endangered animals, and it is illegal to handle them. For your safety and theirs, please do not touch or move them. Thank you for supporting sea turtle conservation in the USVI!

Photo by Ellie Sherman

We’re so thankful for our amazing partners across the USVI! This group of ✨sea turtle superstars✨ from the St. Croix Sea Turtle Project recently joined a hatchling disorientation training hosted by STAR and STX Turtles. Volunteer patrollers are often the first to spot stranded sea turtles and hatchlings going the wrong way. We could not do this important work without them! 💙🩵

🚨 If you see a turtle in distress or heading the wrong way, please call our 24/7 hotline number at 340-690-0474.

We’ve already had lots of sea turtle nests laid on St. Croix this year and now it’s time for those nests to hatch! ✨ Lately, we’re seeing a lot of disoriented hatchlings, which is when hatchlings go the wrong way, usually because of bright lights near the beach. They’re ending up in pools, on roads, and in people’s yards. This little hatchling showed up at someone’s door, and while the doormat does say “Welcome,” we’re not trying to invite turtles inside!

Hatchlings face greater risks when they can’t find their way to the ocean. If you’re near the coast, please turn off outside lights at night or use turtle-friendly lighting. Help us keep our beaches dark, so hatchlings can find their way to the water! 🩵

🚨 If you see a hatchling going the wrong way please call STAR at 340-690-0474!

This time of year, hundreds of green sea turtles are nesting on St. Croix! With all of those turtles nesting and many juveniles foraging in our nearshore waters, it’s no surprise we see green sea turtle strandings more than any other species. This year, we’ve already rescued 12 green turtles, thanks to the help of our amazing partners 🩵

🚨 If you see a turtle in distress or heading the wrong way, please call our 24/7 hotline number at 340-690-0474.

Picture 1: K. Stewart
Picture 2: Officer McIntosh
Picture 3: S. Sorace
Picture 4: S. Kirkpatrick
Picture 5: N. Monnier
Picture 6: D. Trivett

We are blown away by the support from our St. Croix community 💖 Recently, Blue Salt Divers held a fundraiser for STAR during their re-grand opening, raising around $7,500! We are so grateful for them and all of the businesses that donated to the raffle and silent auction. And it wouldn’t have been possible without everyone who came out to the event and placed their bids. Your support means so much as we continue to respond to sea turtle strandings and address threats to sea turtles in the territory 🩵

Thrilled to be part of this event. Thank you Blue Salt Divers for choosing to support STAR. Any funds raised will help us help sea turtles in need across the USVI!

Hawksbill sea turtles nest year-round in the USVI, but for the next couple of months, nesting activity will be at its peak. During this time, hawksbill females come ashore, often nesting under coastal vegetation. 🌿 These plants not only provide great sea turtle nesting habitat but also prevent erosion, and block lights from the beach that can disorient hatchlings. That’s why preserving coastal vegetation and keeping our beaches dark is so important.

🚨 If you see a turtle in distress or heading the wrong way, please call our 24/7 hotline number at 340-690-0474.

📷 Natalie Monnier