CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Weather balloons sent out by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association are released in the sky to collect data for things such as forecast models, which meteorologists use to predict storms.
Ninety of the 900 rubber-and-plastic balloons released globally are deployed in the United States, and while they're meant to help people, they can be hazardous to sea life in just one example of potentially harmful debris that can endanger Corpus Christi-area sea turtles.
"We oftentimes see turtle bites in both of those," said The University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute's Reserve Director Jace Tunnell. "Both in the rubber part and in the film plastic."
Tunnell said he has found balloons during his regular trips to the beach, and asks the many beachgoers that will visit the Coastal Bend this summer to help the local sea life that helps make trips to Port Aransas and the surrounding areas special.
"If you're at the beach, we ask that you pick up all your trash," he said. "Even if it's not your trash. If you see something down there, pick it up. It's something easy that we can do that we know will save the life of a sea turtle."
The Texas State Aquarium's Wildlife Rescue Center treats a lot of these injured turtles.
TSA President and CEO Jesse Gilbert said the rehabilitation center has seen its fair share of turtles affected by all types of foreign debris.
"We've actually had turtles where we can see fishing line coming out of their mouth, and we can actually see it coming out of the other end," he said. "So, they've actually ingested it and it's moved through their system. It's very difficult to get sea turtles to recover from that condition."
Digital director Ana Tamez contributed to this story.
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