Guardians of the Gulf: Gulf World Marine Institute's Dedication to Rehabilitating Marine Life and Preserving Our Ecosystem

PANAMA CITY BEACH - Bay County is known for our beautiful beaches and our bay views. Gulf World Marine Institute exhibits a reason to take such good care of the place we live, for the animals. They continue to contribute to our beautiful community by providing the only marine mammal rehabilitation program and one of the largest turtle rehabilitation programs in the panhandle. "It all began when Gulf World Marine Park was founded about 50 years ago, and in 2010 Gulf World Marine Institute was founded as a separate non-profit organization,” noted Lauren Albrittain, Director of Marine Institute. They cover the Bay County area along with some areas in Gulf, Franklin, Wakulla, and Walton counties, even assisting animals from Boston.

"One of the biggest rescue efforts began with the creation of Turtles Fly Too, a program which features sea turtles being flown around the country,” shared Ms. Albrittain. In 2014, many pilots freely gave their time, fuel, and resources to aid in transporting these turtles. Their aid continues on whenever needed. She continues, “Most turtles are brought in due to hypothermia, ghost fishing gear, and accidental hooking by recreational fishermen.” Any organization that aids in rehabilitating these animals contributes to their next generation; as far as mammals go, dolphins only have one baby calf at a time and spend 1.5-2 years raising them. As for sea turtles, while their nest may be large, only one in a thousand make it to adulthood.

A great way to help the animals is to pick up after ourselves and to reduce the one time plastic use, by taking reusable bags to grocery stores to use instead of plastic ones. It would reduce plastic pollution. Even recycling requires factory pollution to reuse the product.

As long as sea turtles, dolphins, and other marine mammals are in need of aid, Gulf World Marine Institute will be there for them. They will release as many as possible back into the wild as long as they are assured they can survive. If the animal is deemed un-releasable, decisions are made by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation (FWC) for turtles and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for dolphins. Proper protocols are made to ensure that they go to a home that best serves their needs. In the meantime they serve as ambassadors to illustrate the value of our beautiful planet and perfectly balanced ecosystem. Their intelligence, beauty, and innocence are a reminder of what we strive to protect. Thank you to all those who work to make this world a beautiful place.