NEST - Sea Turtle Rehabilitation

The Network for Endangered Sea Turtles (N.E.S.T.), in conjunction with the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island, maintains a sea turtle rehabilitation facility. This facility was built by N.E.S.T. with donations from volunteers, a grant from the Outer Banks Community Foundation, and cooperation from the Aquarium.

The N.E.S.T. Rehab Facility is staffed jointly by N.E.S.T. volunteers and Aquarium staff. The Rehab Facility is NOT open to the public due to the sensitivity of the turtles in the Facility. N.E.S.T. receives cold-stunned turtles found during the cold-water months and injured turtles found year round. Found turtles are first evaluated and treated by a veterinarian and then transferred to Rehab Facility where the turtles are nursed back to health.

The goal of the Rehab Facility is to get the turtles sufficiently healthy as soon as possible so that the turtles can be released back into the ocean .

Please report all turtle crawls,
along with any live, dead or stranded turtles,
found along the Outer Banks
(Corolla to Oregon Inlet)
to the N.E.S.T. 24-hour Hotline

252-441-8622