Residents Say Sea Turtles Rot on Beaches of the Gulf

Rocky Kistner @ Huffington Post - Laurel Lockamy thought she had seen the worst of the oil disaster last summer when waves of oil and tar patties washed onto her beach in Gulfport, MS, taking a major toll on the local tourist industry.

But now a new disaster is unfolding, she says, just as beachgoers are heading back to the water. A large spike in the number of dead sea turtles is being reported across the beaches of the Magnolia State. Residents now find them rotting in the springtime sun along with other animals and birds that float in with the tides.

Laurel has photographed three dead sea turtles on this stretch of sand in the past two weeks. Like other Mississippi residents, she’s never seen one dead—or alive—before. Read more.