TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Two endangered hawksbill sea turtles were rescued Sunday after becoming entangled in abandoned fishing nets on a Keelung beach, while a third was found dead after Typhoon Bavi washed marine debris ashore.
The three juvenile turtles were discovered during a cleanup at Dawulun Beach following the typhoon, per PTS News. Lifeguards, Coast Guard personnel, and members of the public freed the two surviving turtles, which were sent to a wildlife rescue center, while the dead turtle will undergo a necropsy.
Keelung Department of Economic Affairs Marine Affairs Division Director Tsai Fu-ning (蔡馥嚀) told PTS News that the three turtles were estimated to be between three and five years old. She said they were likely carried ashore by strong winds and waves after becoming entangled in discarded fishing nets.
Taiwan Cetacean Society Secretary-General Tseng Cheng-tsung (曾鉦琮) said about 10% of the 150 to 180 sea turtle rescue cases the association handles each year involve abandoned or lost fishing gear, PTS News reported.
The Keelung City Government urged the public not to pull on fishing nets, move, or remove injured, trapped, or dead sea turtles and other protected marine animals found along the coast, per Liberty Times. It advised people to keep a safe distance, record the animal's location and condition, and notify authorities, such as a nearby Coast Guard inspection station.
Tsai said abandoned fishing gear can become "ghost gear" that continues trapping sea turtles, whales, dolphins, and other marine life after being discarded, per CNA. She urged fishers to recover nets entangled with marine animals and report them to rescue personnel rather than cut them loose and leave them at sea.
