VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The Virginia Aquarium does a great job educating visitors about sea life in our region. But out of the public's sight is a stranding team that recovers and researches why some sea life ends up on our area's beaches.
We often ask the question, "Was it man or nature that causes the demise of the magnificent creatures that beach themselves?" To help answer that question, the stranding team serves as a deep-sea CSI.
Enter 10-year volunteer Mike McCarthy, who joined the stranding team on a whim, and became so involved he never left.
When there’s a report of a beached whale or distressed turtle, the staff say he is "Johnny on the spot."
“A lot of times we pick up dead animals and bring them in and do necropsies on them to determine what we as humans are doing to kill them and let’s prevent that,” said McCarthy.
But there are other rescues on the beach that make Mike feel a sense of accomplishment.
“We also recover live turtles. Maybe they’re under stress, maybe they got hit by a boat or they’re sick with pneumonia, the folks back here will treat them, and we’ll release them, which is cool," said McCarthy.
The staff, who nominated Mike to be a News 3 Everyday Hero, told me he is also the unofficial handyman who never turns down an opportunity to pitch in and help.
I guess it’s no surprise considering Mike McCarthy is in the ODU Hall of Fame for wrestling and is retired military, a man who takes his assignments very seriously.
So, for all that he does for the sea creatures and the humans he works with, Mike McCarthy is our News 3 Everyday Hero.
