An endangered sea turtle swallowed a fishing hook on Hilton Head. What happened next?
The world’s rarest species of sea turtle has needed a bit of help on Hilton Head Island over the past week.
Two Kemp’s ridley sea turtles have been found in distress along the island’s beaches: One swallowed a fishing hook close to the Sonesta Resort, and the other was discovered swimming in circles near Sea Pines in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Elsa, according to Amber Kuehn, director of Sea Turtle Patrol Hilton Head Island.
The first turtle, a juvenile named Garnet, got hooked on June 30. The other turtle, named Tiger’s Eye, was discombobulated on Thursday after Elsa swept through the Lowcountry. The local Turtle Trackers group noticed them both and alerted Kuehn.
The Kemp’s ridleys were later transported to the S.C. Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Care Center for treatment, and the hook was surgically removed from Garnet’s esophagus, Kuehn said. Garnet was in stable condition as of Monday.
Garnet was not nesting, Kuehn said, and was likely around 2 years old.
Kemp’s ridleys are omnivores, she added, and sometimes go after bait.
It’s not uncommon to see people hook one of the endangered turtles, Kuehn said. It happened on Hilton Head last summer.
The Sea Turtle Patrol assists with two or three rescues of Kemp’s ridleys in similar situations each year, Kuehn said at the time.
“Turtles get caught on hooks a lot,” she said. (Fishing is not allowed in the public swimming areas of Hilton Head’s beaches.)
The sea turtle found on Thursday, meanwhile, seemed to be struggling due to Elsa, Kuehn said. The Kemp’s ridley was moving in circles, hungry and moderately dehydrated.
The Sea Turtle Care Center has named both of the rescued turtles after stones. The center has a different “theme” for naming turtles every year, Kuehn said.
Kemp’s ridleys are the rarest of the seven sea turtle species, and adults usually weigh between 70 and 100 pounds, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. There are only about 7,000 to 9,000 nesting females worldwide, according to estimates from the Sea Turtle Conservancy.
Just one Kemp’s ridley nest has ever been recorded on Hilton Head, Kuehn said. That was in April 2019.
Kemp’s ridleys are significantly smaller than loggerhead sea turtles, which are regulars on Hilton Head’s beaches and weigh about 350 pounds.
What can you do if you hook a sea turtle while fishing?
Kuehn previously offered some tips.
Keep your hands away from the turtle’s mouth: The animal can bite you!
Call the sea turtle hotline to assist you: 1-800-922-5431. Sea Turtle Patrol volunteers will help decide whether the hook can be removed or if the animal needs to be seen by a surgeon.
Don’t pick up the turtle by the fishing line or cut it: Kuehn has said that can drag the hook through the animal and cause more damage.
Keep the sea turtle in shallow water: The animal cannot self-regulate its body temperature, so it will get too hot sitting out on the beach.
Don’t touch the animal: Any sea turtle rescue or conservation effort that involves hands-on contact with the animal requires a permit from the S.C. Department of Natural Resources.
This story was originally published July 9, 2021 at 12:31 PM.
