OC Beach Patrol saves more than human lives

Ocean City Beach Patrol, men and women dedicated to keeping beach-goers safe, but they also have another duty that links them to the National Aquarium in Baltimore

Since the beach patrol is the first point of contact for most beach problems that includes when marine mammals get washed ashore.  Because of the patrol gets trained yearly by officials from the National Aquarium on how to deal with washed up marine life,  how to keep crowds away from the animals and how to keep the animals hydrated and healthy until they can be transported to the aquarium for treatment.      
     
“We just built that relationship overtime to where now during our rescue academy all new guards go through an orientation about any marine mammal and then we have advanced training for those people who are more interested and some of them even become full volunteers with the National Aquarium,” Capt. Butch Arbin of the Ocean City Beach Patrol. “We see it coming in, we’re going to clear people back, we’re going to keep people away from the animal because it can be dangerous to the animal and to the people.”

There are two main reasons it’s dangerous, one the large crowds can cause anxiety for animal, two disease can be transferred, both from people to animal and vice versa.

Beach patrol helps even if the animal doesn’t wash ashore in Ocean City. Less than two weeks ago the National Aquarium had sea turtles that were rescued on the New England coast after being shocked by cold water. After nursing them back to health the aquarium brought three to Ocean City and released them back into more comfortable waters.    

The relationship works both ways though, a couple years ago a different turtle was having a different kind of trouble in Ocean City.

That turtle was Anna, a sea turtle that had been covered with barnacles and was in bad health when she was spotted bobbing up for air near 17th street in Ocean City. Sgt. Brent Weingard was alerted and after swimming out with a friend on the patrol Weingard was able to get Anna on a boogie board and get her ashore. After that Weingard enlisted the help of some beach-goers who helped keep Anna in the shade and hydrated until a volunteer from the National Aquarium could come get her.

A few months later Anna was released back into the wild Weingard says, healthy and full of life.