"We always say, the moment we stop caring is the moment we should quit."

Mote Marine Laboratory staff on the front lines of Florida’s devastating red tide bloom are racing to rescue live sea turtles and manatees and to investigate dead animals washing up on Southwest Florida beaches in the hopes of learning more about the toxic algae.

It’s dirty, heart-wrenching work, but they do it for the betterment of the species.

Since January, 137 sea turtles have been recovered by the research center’s Stranding Investigations Program, a four-person squad that recovers sick, injured and deceased marine animals and sea turtles in Manatee and Sarasota counties.

Read more at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.