by Alan Hong, manager
Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve
On August 5, 2007, David A. Johnson spotted a turtle snagged on the bottom by a piece of fishing line in the Witches’ Brew area of Hanauma Bay. The turtle had a hook in its front left flipper that was trailing a length of wire leader, large lead sinker, nylon line, and brass swivel. David was able to free the line from the bottom, but the turtle became snagged again. David freed it a second time but the turtle swam away before the line and sinker could be removed. The lifeguards helped look for the turtle without success. The turtle remained in danger of becoming snagged on the bottom again.
David reported the incident to George Balazs, sea turtle specialist with NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service. A photo David took of the turtle showed the wire leader, sinker, and nylon line. George forwarded the incident to the Hanauma Bay office.
This was a particularly worrisome case, since the turtle in the photo was an extremely rare hawksbill turtle, not the much more commonly seen green turtle.
A few weeks after the incident, Friends of Hanauma Bay member Edmund Au was scuba diving in Witches’ Brew and came upon the Hawksbill turtle, still trailing the hook, leader, and sinker. The turtle was not using its injured flipper. Edmund (who was a paramedic at one time) used the surgical shears he carries (in case he finds tangled fishing line on the bottom) to try and cut the sinker free of the wire leader. He only succeeded in damaging his shears. Edmund reported this incident to the Hanauma Bay manager, who passed it on to George.
There were no reported sightings of this turtle for the next month. We assumed the turtle had become entangled on the bottom and drowned. Fortunately, that was not the case. On Wednesday, October 3, 2007, the turtle was rescued and picked up by NOAA's Marine Turtle Research Program (MTRP). The turtle was transported to the MTRP's sea turtle veterinarian to be examined and receive medical treatment. An X-ray of the flipper showed that the hook was deeply embedded in the left shoulder joint, completely encircling the bone, with the point in the bone itself. The joint was also infected. Surgical removal of the hook brought with it the danger of damaging nerves, possibly leaving the flipper useless. The decision was made to cut off as much of the hook as possible, but leave the unreachable tip in the bone, rather than risk causing more damage to the flipper. The turtle was treated with antibiotics and released back into Hanauma Bay on Thursday, October 11. This turtle can be easily recognized by the white letters “HB” (for hawksbill) painted on its shell. Please report sightings of this turtle to Hanauma Bay Park staff.
Hawksbill turtles are extremely rare in Hawaii. Unlike the commonly seen green turtle whose numbers are increasing, the number of hawksbills remains low. In 2006, only 12 female hawksbills were identified by the National Park Service nesting on the Big Island. And over the past 17 years, only 79 nesting females have been tagged on the islands of Maui and Hawaii. Fortunately, this incident had a happy ending and this turtle is back swimming in the warm waters of Hawaii and may someday contribute to the Hawaiian hawksbill population.
If you encounter a live sick, injured, or dead sea turtle in Hawaii, please call the Marine Turtle Research Program's Sea Turtle Stranding Hotline at 983-5730. Because of the risk to humans associated with capturing and rescuing turtles – injury to self and/or to the turtle as well as the risk of drowning – we do not advise the public to attempt rescues. Instead the incident should be reported to NOAA's Marine Turtle Research Program and trained staff will assess the situation and determine the best course of action.
You can learn more about turtles and what you can do to help by going to www.turtles.org.
Photo by Dave Johnson showing wire fishing leader and sinker hanging from shoulder of hawksbill turtle
Melissa McGarrett of the Education Program with turtle rescuer and FOHB member Edmund Au
H-Bay ranger Jack with NOAA worker Dusty preparing turtle for transport
X-ray showing hook completely surrounding the bone
H-Bay manager Alan and Melissa releasing hawksbill
