On the coast of Kenya, sea turtles are accidentally being caught in fishermen’s nets. Tragically, many become completely entangled and die, but with our help, they now have a chance of being rescued and released back into the ocean.
Entanglement is a major cause of death in sea turtles around the world. We have the ability to do something about it.
Many of the entangled turtles are endangered, including leatherback, green and loggerhead turtles. And the threat is constantly growing – as fishing activity increases, so do the instances of helpless sea turtles being caught in fishing gear.
30% of sea turtles in Kenya fall victim to entanglement, and most of them die.
Our team was on the ground in Kenya when a call came in alerting us to an entanglement case. An endangered green turtle had been caught in a fishing net and was about to die. We rushed to its aid.
It takes a lot of effort to rescue a single turtle. Each one needs a thorough health assessment, the removal of parasites, tagging and release into a safe area where it is less likely to become entangled again.