# Dead Sea Turtle



## TightLines172 (May 13, 2011)

Hey guys found a young freshly Dead Sea turtle in the pass a couple of days ago. When I stopped to check it out I found that he had suffocated from a small piece of 60 or so lb mono. It was wrapped around his fin and his neck and knotted in such a way that as he tried to swim, it would tighten around his neck. I know I've been guilty before of clipping off a knot and tossing it without thinking, but this is great and very sad reminder to be responsible and clean up after ourselves.


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## TightLines172 (May 13, 2011)

Here's some pics


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## FreeDiver (Jun 12, 2013)

Anyone I fish with that litters it's the last! I hate seeing that. As a Freediver and a fisherman. KEEP OUR WATERS CLEAN! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## panhandleslim (Jan 11, 2013)

Glad you checked it out and glad you posted; but, let me warn you....don't let FWC come up on you while you are handling an animal like that. I know one guy who towed one in because he thought it was a navigation hazard. Before they were through with him, he had to sell his boat to pay all the fines.


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## TightLines172 (May 13, 2011)

Yeah I hear ya. All I did was remove the line and leave him be. He had been dead for a day or so. Had a pretty strong odor so I don't believe FWC would have come down too hard on me if they had rolled up but I could be wrong. If I had kept him that would have been another story. Either way, thanks for the heads up!


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## dustyflair (Nov 11, 2011)

How sad and these litter bugs around this area could care less!!! LOSERS LITTER! DON'T BE A LOSER!!!


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## Bravo87 (Jun 19, 2014)

Thanks for adding! I certainly make a better effort next time the wind blow line out as we are moving.


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## Jason (Oct 2, 2007)

Yeah.....that's sad to see!!!!


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## boomyak (Mar 21, 2014)

There's a contact number on the FWC site to report dead turtles. I found one floating in the spring and they told me to haul it to shore and sent a biologist to pick it up within an hour.


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## fishheadspin (Jun 9, 2008)

this saddens me. it is amazing any of these guys survive with all they have going against them!


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## WhackUmStackUm (Jan 31, 2010)

Very sad. Thanks for the post and reminder.


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## panhandleslim (Jan 11, 2013)

Last time we went on a Marlin fishing trip, you wouldn't believe how many balloons we saw, 50 miles out. It was primarily due to the north wind and peoples carelessness. I've heard that turtles are bad about eating the deflated balloons, thinking they are jellyfish and then it just clogs their digestive system and kills them. 

Encourage your family and friends to find another way to celebrate events other than using helium balloons.

I think if they put that photo, of the turtle with line, on every pier and at every boat launch, it might encourage people to be a bit more careful with their waste line.


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## WAReilly (Jun 2, 2014)

No hook in its mouth? I caught one of these about that size on Monday or Tuesday at the sea wall on base. I couldn't get it up over the wall, so I cut the leader. A 60 pound fluorocarbon leader. I lifted it as much as I could to cut the leader to let it go.

I feel sick that this could be that turtle.


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## Justin618 (Aug 18, 2013)

Man, if i found that it would have been tiger bait.

Very sad though. And before anyone earns their pff police badge, it's dead. I wouldn't get a live one and use it for bait.


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## Angryturkey (Jul 17, 2014)

I ran into a similar issue out at beach access 1 down at Perdido key. I snagged a Kemps seaturtle that already had a treble hook coupled with a big knot of mono attached. Good thing we caught him as we were able to cut out the hook and free him of the line. 
Just like the original poster said; a stark reminder of the impact we as fishermen can have on the ecosystem we depend on. It has definitely caused me to reflect on how I treat my gear.....


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## TightLines172 (May 13, 2011)

WAReilly said:


> No hook in its mouth? I caught one of these about that size on Monday or Tuesday at the sea wall on base. I couldn't get it up over the wall, so I cut the leader. A 60 pound fluorocarbon leader. I lifted it as much as I could to cut the leader to let it go.
> 
> I feel sick that this could be that turtle.


Nah I don't think that's the same turtle. The line was clean cut on both ends and about 3 ft long. Checked his mouth for hooks or a sign of a hook having been there but nothing that I could see. Looked like someone just removed a knot by cutting it out. Looked a lot like the Ande blue line I use a lot too. Not sure what you were using...


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## TightLines172 (May 13, 2011)

If anybody knows where I can post this pic to raise awareness please share. Thanks


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## Justin618 (Aug 18, 2013)

TightLines172 said:


> If anybody knows where I can post this pic to raise awareness please share. Thanks


Maybe email fwc and they can post it in the proper section. This is why if I have cans that come wtf the plastic rings I'll cut them all. Buddies caught a nurse shark one night and it had a plastic ring around its neck and was so swelled up it was almost covering the ring. I bet that nurse was relieved when they removed it and it swam ofd


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## WAReilly (Jun 2, 2014)

TightLines172 said:


> Nah I don't think that's the same turtle. The line was clean cut on both ends and about 3 ft long. Checked his mouth for hooks or a sign of a hook having been there but nothing that I could see. Looked like someone just removed a knot by cutting it out. Looked a lot like the Ande blue line I use a lot too. Not sure what you were using...


That makes me feel better. I use Seaguar brand leaders. Always clear.


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## cablechris (May 3, 2011)

My wife thinks I have have it out for our washing machine. Either coming home for work or coming back from fishing a always have small trash in my pockets. When I clip my mono off it always ends up in my pocket just hate to throw in down in the boat and it end up in the water...


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## DawnsKayBug (Jul 24, 2013)

The post you made to FWC on FB is starting to go viral. I have seen it in 4 feeds today.


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## TightLines172 (May 13, 2011)

DawnsKayBug said:


> The post you made to FWC on FB is starting to go viral. I have seen it in 4 feeds today.


Yes I know! I've gotten a ton of notifications that people are sharing my post to FWC. It's fine with me. I love fishing and diving and just wanted to make sure we all take the time to do the little things to preserve what we have all come to enjoy so much. Hope I never run across something like this again. Thanks for checking out my post!


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