A South Florida family on a snorkeling trip helped save a green sea turtle trapped in a commercial fishing trap’s buoy line near the Florida Keys.
A video of the rescue was submitted Friday, though the exact date of the incident is unknown.
Kim Falconer spotted the turtle in distress while heading toward Sand Key, a popular dive spot about seven miles southwest of Key West in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. She contacted The Turtle Hospital in Marathon, where manager Bette Zirkelbach coordinated with Falconer to free the animal.
Video of the rescue showed a person carefully working to loosen the rope wrapped around the turtle’s front flipper and shell. The turtle’s head broke the surface several times as the rescuer maneuvered the line free, and in the final moments, the animal swam away unimpeded into the blue.
Green sea turtles are classified as “threatened” under the Federal Endangered Species Act.
Zirkelbach urged boaters in the Keys to report injured or distressed turtles by calling The Turtle Hospital at 305-481-7669 or the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at 1-888-404-3922.
