Sea Turtles Rescued by Coast Guard

Some Coast Guard officials on a routine mission looking for drug smugglers off the coast of Central American came upon a pair of sea turtles who were in a lot of trouble.  The two turtles were entangled in fishing line and buoys and would have surely not lived much longer if not for the efforts of group.

They quickly captured the turtles and removed all of the fishing line including one that was wrapped around a turtles neck. A guardsman said on his YouTube page: “In honor of World Oceans Day, the Coast Guard honors their maritime stewardship role, which allows for the success of missions such as these.”

One of the biggest problems facing sea turtles is entanglement which results in their death by drowning or starvation.  The Sea Turtle Conservancy states there are more than 250,000 sea turtles accidentally captured, injured or killed by U.S. fishermen alone every year.  Some are spotted and released but others get caught in discarded nets which is an issue referred to as “Ghost Fishing.”