(FORT MYERS NEWS-PRESS) -- Hundreds of sea turtles have washed up on Southwest Florida beaches this year in a mass mortality event that researchers say will impact the recovery of protected species.
Seventeen have been recovered in Sanibel and Captiva waters in the past week.
"Our average for the entire year is usually around 30 or 35, but we’ve had 53 in June and July alone," said Kelly Sloan, a sea turtle researcher at the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation on Sanibel.
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