Navy divers rescue distressed turtle caught in netting

By Tom Bevan via SWNS

Royal Navy divers saved the life of a stricken turtle who was spotted in distress as their ship patrolled the Gulf.

The crew of minehunter HMS Bangor jumped into the water to remove fishing nets which had wrapped around the creature.

Navigator Lieutenant Sean Harvey spotted the turtle and alerted Bangor’s dive team – out in one of the warship’s small boats and on alert to disarm or blow up underwater bombs and mines.

Divers Joe Musker and Harry Thomas then brought the boat up to the turtle and began the intricate job of removing the floats and nets which had wrapped around the it's neck.

Without their intervention, the turtle would most probably have drowned as it was struggling to come up for air.

Sean said: "While we’re deployed to the Gulf we get the opportunity to see a large variety of marine life, though few are so impressive as the sea turtle.

“When we came across one in such distress it was an easy decision to help. Our embarked dive team, who are normally used to swimming down to inspect or neutralize threats on the sea bed were more than happy to use their skills instead to rescue this distressed turtle.

“It was immensely gratifying to see it happily swim away having disposed of the netting that had been entangling it – and littering the ocean.”

It’s the second time in a fortnight the Royal Navy has helped out a creature which is regarded as endangered or threatened by conservationists, depending on the location and species.

Last month, crew of HMS Dauntless cleared 200kg of rubbish from a nesting ground for turtles in Curaçao in the Caribbean.

Dr. Imogen Napper, a marine scientist and lieutenant in the Royal Navy Reserve, said: “Unfortunately, abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear is becoming increasingly common.

“It has the same impacts – ecological and socio-economic – as other forms of marine litter but as fishing gear is designed for one purpose, namely to catch fish, it is considered more harmful than other forms of marine plastic since it has the potential to continue catching marine fauna by ‘ghost fishing’.

“It’s really heartwarming to see the Royal Navy increasingly engaged with environmental matters over the past year.”