Crowd cheers for Chuckles as he returns to the Gulf of Mexico

INLET BEACH, Fla. ( WMBB ) — May 23 is World Turtle Day, and what better way to celebrate than a sea turtle release in the Gulf of Mexico.

Cheers rang out Thursday morning for Chuckles. A fisherman on the M.B. Miller Pier hooked the 60-pound sub-adult loggerhead on May 3.

After X-rays, staff at the Gulf World Marine Institute found a hook in Chuckle’s fin, another in his mouth, and the third in his stomach.

“We used the x-rays to see that he had internal hooks. We were able to confirm that those were all gone, which is great. And then we also wanted to make sure he can swim and eat properly. He’s been doing that the whole time. Pier turtles are usually pretty good at that,“ said Lauren Albrittain, Stranding Coordinator.

Twenty days later a large crowd watched as Chuckles belly crawled his way to the water.

“I thought it was really cool. I liked it a lot, cause, like, you don’t really get to see this much, so it was just really cool,” said Moses Odell, visiting from Tenn.

“I thought it was amazing. This is my first time watching this happen and it was very emotional. I’m an ambassador for the friends of sea turtles in South Walton, and this was on my bucket list,” said Lydia Frazier, Destin resident.

Gulf World says there is a way to follow online and on social media to make sure you don’t miss an event like this in the future.

“As soon as we get that green light, we schedule it for the next good weather day, which might be the next day. As in this case, we only gave one-day advertisement. So we are super glad to see the number of people here that we had,” Albrittain said. “I would recommend liking us on Facebook. And then if you make us a favorite, our posts will go to the top of your feeds. That way you’re going to see us.”

If anyone hooks or sees a sea turtle on the beach, call FWC at 888-404-3922.

Learn more about the institute and how to help sea turtles online.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to mypanhandle.com.