MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. -- Twelve loggerhead sea turtles are swimming freely off the coast of Morehead City.

  • Pine Knolls Shores Aquarium is part of a nationwide loan program that lets them raise a sea turtle until it is ready to be released
  • Aquariums must be accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, have specifically designed habitats for young turtles, and follow all federal guidelines for sea turtle care
  • Wednesday morning's release was the last of its kind as the loan program is ending

Pine Knolls Shores Aquarium is part of a nationwide loan program that lets them raise a sea turtle until it is ready to be released, usually after about a year.

Participants of the loan program include National Aquarium in Baltimore, Adventure Aquarium in New Jersey, Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, Albuquerque Aquarium in New Mexico and the Virginia Living Museum.

To be a part of the program, aquariums must be accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, have specifically designed habitats for young turtles, and follow all federal guidelines for sea turtle care.

Volunteers search their local beaches for newly hatched sea turtles who did not make it to the water. Then the participating aquarium can raise the hatchling for a year, tracking its growth and feeding it well. Once it is ready the turtles are sent back out to sea.

In addition to taking care of the turtles, the aquarium benefits from raising them because it connects the public with the aquarium's environmental conservation efforts.

“A lot of places don’t have the opportunity to see a juvenile turtle or a sea turtle at all," said Michele Lamping, a sea turtle specialist at the Aquarium at Pine Knolls Shores. "And so the connection with them, it’s a real intimate connection. They get to follow this hatchling from about two months to a full year.”

Wednesday morning's release was the last of its kind as the loan program is ending. Officials at the Aquarium at Pine Knolls Shores said they are not sure why the program is ending but see it as an opportunity to try something new.