Boater, Officers Try To Save Injured Sea Turtle In LI Waters

A boater and New York Environmental Conservation Police officers (ECOs) helped rescue an injured, endangered sea turtle in the waters near Long Beach late last month.

According to the Department of Environmental Conservation, ECOs Michael Unger and Zachary Prentice were on a boat patrol when they got a call for an injured sea turtle in Reynolds Channel. The turtle had been struck by a boat propeller, which cracked its shell open.

The caller blocked off and marked the area, which gets a lot of boat traffic and a strong current, and waited for the ECOs to arrive.

When the ECOs arrived, the current had carried the turtle to the waters near the Jones Inlet. The ECOs managed to get the turtle on their boat about one mile south of Jones Inlet, with the help of the U.S. Coast Guard and volunteers from the Riverhead Foundation Rescue Center.

The turtle, a loggerhead sea turtle, was taken to Riverhead to be evaluated and treated by medical staff. Unfortunately, the Riverhead Foundation said the turtle died from its wound.

Loggerhead sea turtles are an endangered species. The DEC says that boaters should be aware of their presence in coastal waters and avoid collisions with them.