Coast Guard Crew Pulls Rope From Struggling Sea Turtle’s Neck In Gulf Rescue

A U.S. Coast Guard crew pulled a crab pot line from around the neck of a struggling loggerhead sea turtle about a mile offshore between Venice Inlet and Big Sarasota Pass on Sunday, October 11.

Footage released by U.S. Coast Guard Southeast shows crew members from Coast Guard Station Cortez using a boat hook to grab the black line and its pink float, drawing the turtle to the side of their boat. A crew member then pulls the rope free by hand, and the turtle immediately dives and swims away as the crew cheers.

According to the Coast Guard, the turtle was in serious distress with the line wrapped tightly around its neck. The crew of reserve and active-duty members was heading back to its station after the end of local boat races when they spotted it.

“Under the direction of the coxswain, BM1 Phillips, the crew carefully brought the sea turtle alongside the boat, safely untangled the line, and freed it,” the Coast Guard said. The crew estimated the turtle to be between 25 and 40 years old.

Loggerheads are a threatened species, and entanglement in fishing and crab gear is one of the hazards they face along Florida’s coast.