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Aquarium Says Feds Should Include New England Turtle Deaths In Status Evaluation

Bruce Smith
/
Associated Press
Yawkey, a rare leatherback sea turtle, moves off the beach at the Isle of Palms, S.C., on March 12, 2015. The turtle was being returned to the the Atlantic Ocean after it was treated for five days at the South Carolina Aquarium.

BOSTON - Scientists from the New England Aquarium say sea turtle deaths off the New England coast should play a role in a federal government decision about whether a large turtle's endangered status should be reconsidered.The National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration is evaluating whether to keep the Atlantic Ocean's leatherback sea turtles "endangered'' or lower their status to "threatened.''  The aquarium says more than 200 of the turtles have been entangled in marine ropes off of Massachusetts since 2005.
 
The aquarium announced on Nov. 3 that it had determined a 420-pound leatherback that had stranded earlier in the week on Cape Cod died in part from ingesting plastic and suffering an entanglement injury.
 
Leatherbacks are the world's largest turtle and can weigh upward of 2,000 pounds.