Rescuers Save Giant Sea Turtle Off Cape Cod

Rescuers saved a giant sea turtle caught in fishing gear off Cape Cod over the weekend.

A passing boater spotted the 5-foot leatherback turtle in Pamet Harbor in Truro on Saturday and called the Coast Guard.

Crews from the Center for Coastal Studies Marine Animal Entanglement Response Team responded to the scene and cut the turtle free. They said it had minor injuries but was able to swim away and should recover.

The response team, based in Provincetown, has freed more than 200 whales, turtles, and other marine life from entanglements.

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

In July, the team saved a badly entangled minke whale.

And last month, they saved a blue shark.

It team said because of the endangered status of many of these creatures—especially the right whale—freeing just one can have a “profound” effect on the entire population.

The team said it relies on reports from passing boaters; they encouraged those who come across tangled marine life to contact the Coast Guard or its entanglement hotline at 800-900-3622.

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• Rescuers Save Giant Sea Turtle Caught in Trap Off Cape Cod
• Rescuers Save Whale Tangled in Fishing Gear Off Martha’s Vineyard
• Great White Shark Faces Off Against Tangled Humpback Whale on Cape Cod