Larisa Avens

As this is my first time blogging, I wasn’t quite sure what to write about, but Matthew has been bugging me about posting something, so here goes....
Reading people’s stories about nesting turtles on tropical beaches makes me long for a change in season. Here in North Carolina, we’re at the heart of a particularly cold, dank winter and all but the most foolhardy turtles (that end up on the beaches for Matthew and Wendy to deal with) have taken off for warmer climes. I have to remember that it’s only a few more months until the turtles return and it’ll be time to work with local pound net fishermen again to assess our juvenile turtle population. There’s nothing quite like getting up well before dawn to meet the fishermen and to ride in a tiny wooden skiff out into Core or Pamlico Sound while watching the sun rise. When you start to fish the pound nets, it’s always a surprise. You never know what you’ll see in a pound net…fish, stingrays, crabs, octopus, and if you’re lucky – turtles!