Giant Sea Turtle's Death in Barnstable Angers Scientists

A giant sea turtle washed up dead in Barnstable over the weekend and scientists were horrified to discover it ingested a 3-foot piece of plastic trash, got tangled in fishing gear, and was struck by a boat.

New England Aquarium officials said they have never seen a turtle killed in that manner.

The 400-pound leatherback turtle washed up on Sandy Neck Beach Sunday and was transported to the aquarium’s sea turtle hospital in Quincy for a necropsy. The findings were depressing.

The juvenile male turtle’s flippers were cut up by fishing gear, its shell was caved in from a boat strike, and there was a 3-foot piece of discarded plastic sheeting in its stomach.

“In one summer of its short life, this giant, highly endangered sea turtle had encountered a triple threat of human-caused hazards that keep this 65-million-year-old leatherback species teetering at the brink of extinction,” scientists said in a statement, adding its entanglement in fishing gear likely caused its death.

Leatherback turtle populations have been decreasing in recent years and it’s now listed as a “vulnerable” species by the World Wildlife Fund. The turtles are a critical component of marine ecosystems, as they feed on jelly fish, keeping those populations in check.

On the bright side, there are local rescue crews working to free turtles and other sea life caught in fishing gear off Cape Cod.

In July, a team from the Center for Coast Studies saved a badly entangled minke whale.

And in August, the team saved another leatherback turtle caught in a trap.