A fishing trip for cobias turned into a sea turtle rescue on the Chesapeake Bay.
In mid-June, Virginia fisherman Brandon Watts and his friends found a 700-pound leatherback sea turtle wrapped in crab pot buoy lines while they were on the water near Buck Row Beach, according to WAVY TV 10.
“We think we were around Buck Row Beach, and we’d seen something struggling in the water,” Watts said in an interview with WAVY TV 10. “It seemed like he was crying for help, and my dad mode kicked in, and I just went right to town.”
The three fishermen were dealing with 32 km/h winds and had to avoid getting too close because the waves could push their boat into the turtle. When Watts got close enough, he saw the buoy lines were wrapped around the turtle’s neck and flippers at least 10 times.
Using a razor knife, Watts cut through the rope until the turtle was free.
“I just couldn’t leave him, knowing that he could wash up dead somewhere down the line, so I just had to do what I could do to get him free,” Watts said.
As Watts cut away the lines, his friend Travis Cullipher stayed at the helm to keep the boat at a careful distance.
“I’ve been fishing since I was a little kid, but I’ve never seen a turtle in distress like that,” Cullipher said.
Watts said abandoned fishing gear, including crab trap buoy lines, fishing hooks and nets, poses a major threat to sea turtles.
“They didn’t ask for all that stuff to be in that water,” Watts added. “So anything you can do helps.”
The rescue echoes other recent cases. In 2018, another leatherback sea turtle was caught in a crab pot buoy 15 metres below the surface before a group of fishermen rescued it.
In 2024, the New England Aquarium Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life responded to a 400-pound leatherback wrapped in fishing gear in Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts.
“The turtle had a rope entanglement around the shoulder region of its right front flipper, but fortunately it was detected quickly, and the gear was still loose with minimal damage to the flipper,” Dr Melissa Joblon, the aquarium’s director of animal health, said in a press release. “Overall, the turtle appeared healthy, active, and in great body condition, so we suspect it will do very well after release.”
Before that turtle, nicknamed Phinney by local Cape Cod Bay responders, was released, scientists attached satellite and acoustic tags to its shell. The aquarium said the tags let researchers track released turtles for up to 10 years through underwater receivers stretching from Canada to Florida.
“It’s critical that we understand the outcomes of leatherback sea turtles after they’re disentangled from fishing gear,” said Kara Dodge, an Anderson Cabot Research Scientist. “We’re using satellite and acoustic tags to monitor their post-release survival and behavior over time.”
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