Hawksbill turtle dies in discarded fishing line (story and phtos)

[Dave C]

Could you tell if a fishermen discarded the line (obviously this is bad and against the law) or if he/she was fishing, hung up on the reef, and had the line part (this wouldn't be against the law)? I suppose if the line hung up, you would find a hook or lure someplace.

 

[Rhone Man]

I had no idea that they were endangered (you see so many Hawksbills around here). According to Wikipedia, they are actually on the critically endangered list.

 

[KidK9]

That's so terrible. I feel so bad for him.

 

[Johnoly]

Mono line and plastic grocery bags are the worst. Since I bug hunt it just take a couple of quick seconds to wind it up on your hand or atleast cut it so far back they can't tangle. There are times the dive boat looks like a garbage truck. Lobster bags are the best and the bugs don't mind playing with the empty bottles and cans thrown in with them. Nice work debersole!!

 

[drbill]

Could you tell if a fishermen discarded the line (obviously this is bad and against the law) or if he/she was fishing, hung up on the reef, and had the line part (this wouldn't be against the law)? I suppose if the line hung up, you would find a hook or lure someplace.

Interesting point. I had heard elsewhere (Facebook) that it was a line discarded by an angler who unspooled it, but of course it could have just been broken when a big 'un took off most of the line on a run.

 

[sportxlh]

I was out with the Scuba Club on one of my AOW dives on the Mizpah last month and the instructor cut loose a turtle in a simlar situation that had not yet expired.

 

[Dr. Doug Ebersole]

Thanks for all of the comments, everyone. I just wanted to get the word out. There was a lot of line there and I couldn't easily tell how it was attached to the bottom. Given the amount of line floating in the water column and the moderate current (drift dive), I just took some photos and contacted hawksbill turtle research extroadinare Larry Wood. Unfortunately, this was one of "his" turtles that he had tagged for research purposes. By the way, anyone have any idea why the shell looks the way it does?

 

[Orlando Eric]

To clarify-- I do not know how the line got there. I am just reporting I have heard of people free spooling their line to strip their reels on the way in so they can put new line on later. Many of the fisherman have no idea what the bottom looks like and consider the ocean as a big garbage can. Of course all the divers here have seen line, beer cans, bottles, etc which have been discarded.

 

[Amazz]

This is heartbreaking. I pull tons of mono all the time. It's a shame people are so careless by tossing all that trash in the ocean. Randy and I were fortunate to rescue a hawksbill who faced sure death. The mono was wrapped tightly from neck to front flipper, cutting deep into it's skin
She thanked us.

But geez, you barely got a clot and went out there diving. No respect!

 

[Jayde323]

I am in tears looking at those pictures. Debersole, thank you for sharing this. I hope the interview you did with the local news will make anglers think twice about disgarding their line.

Unfortunatly, my husband and I found a large loggerhead off Venice last year while out boating with our family. It too had become entangled in fishing line and died. We contacted Mote Marine and they were able to recover the turtle for their research.