VIDEO: Mote's stranding program gets boost from grant

Thanks to a roughly $12,000 grant from the Sea Turtle Grant Program, Mote Marine Laboratory’s Stranding Investigations Program will no longer have to rely on Jet Skis for marine rescues and recoveries.

Mote used the funding, which was generated from the sale of Florida Sea Turtle license plates, to buy a 13-foot Boston Whaler from MarineMax Sarasota. The new vessel gives staff another tool when conducting rescue or recovery operations of whales, dolphins or sea turtles in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

Call 988-0212 to report a distressed or dead sea turtle, dolphin or whale.