IMMS releases Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle

The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies released their first rehabilitated Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle of the year.

Biloxi Mayor FoFo Gilich, students from Presbyterian Christian School in Hattiesburg, and Long Beach Middle School’s Beta Club were on hand to cheer Fred along as he swam away.

Mississippi’s First Lady Elee Reeves wrote a children’s book about a turtle named Fred, so it was only right for her to do the honors of releasing Fred back into the Mississippi Sound.

Fred is the first successfully rehabbed patient from the cold-stunned sea turtles that arrived in December. First Lady Reeves said, “Sea life is an important part of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. IMMS does a wonderful job rehabilitating any injured sea animals. When we got the idea for this activity coloring book, coming up with the story this was an easy story to feature the sea life here on the Coast. It’s been a really fun adventure with Fred across the state.”

The first lady also stopped at schools along the Coast to read to students and drop off copies of her book ‘Mississippi’s Fred the Turtle.’