The Marine Animal Entanglement Response (MAER) team at the Center for Coastal Studies disentangled a leatherback sea turtle in Cape Cod Bay yesterday (Sunday, August 27). The turtle, estimated to weigh some 400 pounds, was found by Good Samaritan boaters off Wellfleet, MA and reported promptly. The boaters stood by the turtle until the MAER team arrived on scene.
According to Scott Landry, director of the MAER team, the turtle was dragging a buoy line of fishing gear from multiple wraps of its left front flipper. The buoy line had clearly been cut, likely by well-intentioned mariners, which left the turtle free-swimming but still badly entangled. Using a grappling hook, the MAER team caught the entangling rope and carefully brought the turtle alongside its response vessel for an assessment and disentanglement. The team found injuries on most parts of the turtle that were likely caused by weeks of entanglement. After the assessment the entanglement was removed from its flipper and the turtle released.
“Without the help and patience of the boaters who reported the case to us, this turtle would have been lost” said Bob Lynch of the MAER team.
Leatherback turtles are a globally endangered species that make annual migrations between high latitude feeding grounds and tropical and subtropical nesting areas. Leatherbacks often appear in New England at the start of summer and head south in September and October. They are susceptible to entanglement in fishing gear while foraging off New England. All mariners are urged to immediately report entangled sea turtles and whales to the CCS hotline (1-800-900-3622), the US Coast Guard on VHF channel 16 or the National Marine Fisheries Service hotline (1-866-755-6622) and to stand by the animal at a safe distance until trained responders arrive.
CCS disentanglement work is supported in part by grants from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (MA-DMF), the Massachusetts Environmental Trust, and private foundations and donors. All disentanglement activities are conducted under a federal permit authorized by NOAA.
Image caption: The MAER team working to unwind the entanglement from the turtle on August 27 in Cape Cod Bay. Photo credit: Center for Coastal Studies, permit 50 CFR 222.310