A loggerhead sea turtle was found off the coast of New South Wales in early July, bobbing in the water and wrapped several times in thick ropes connected to barnacle-covered buoys.
A group of fishermen spotted the 220-pound turtle while boating and cut the ropes away. In video of the rescue, one fisherman can be heard saying, “Stay still, lady,” as he works to free the turtle.
After the turtle swam away, the same fisherman said, “What a mission!”
Abandoned fishing gear, also known as “ghost gear,” can be deadly for sea turtles.
A similar rescue happened in June in Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay, where three fishermen found a 700-pound leatherback sea turtle struggling in the water. With winds at 20 mph, they moved their boat close enough for fisherman Brandon Watts to cut crab pot buoy lines wrapped around the turtle’s neck and flippers about ten times.
“It seemed like he was crying for help, and my dad mode kicked in, and I just went right to town,” Watts said in an interview with WAVY TV 10.
Once freed, the turtle swam away safely.
“I’ve been fishing since I was a little kid, but I’ve never seen a turtle in distress like that,” Watts’ friend, Travis Cullipher, said.
“They didn’t ask for all that stuff to be in that water,” Watts added. “So anything you can do helps.”
In April, an 8-year-old girl on holiday in South Carolina spotted a sea turtle hooked to Oak Island’s Ocean Crest Pier. It was a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, which is widely considered the most endangered sea turtle in the world.
Her family called the Oak Island Sea Turtle Protection Program, an all-volunteer nonprofit group, which came to unhook the turtle.
“A big thank you to Katie and her family from Spartanburg, SC, for calling us to make sure the turtle was ok,” the nonprofit posted on Facebook on April 17. “We assessed the turtle, checked him for tags, got some great data for the state, and released him immediately.”
People who see a sea turtle that appears injured, trapped, or struggling are being urged to report it to local authorities or a marine conservation organization. The number 1-800-SEATURTLE and the NOAA Fisheries Stranding Contact Page can be used to find 24-hour hotlines.
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