Turtle that swallowed fishing line released in ocean

A sea turtle that underwent surgery to remove more than 4 feet (1 meter) of fishing line she had swallowed has been released in the Atlantic Ocean off South Carolina's coast.

The South Carolina Aquarium said in a news release Monday that Peach was returned to the ocean at Folly Beach on Monday after recovering from the surgery.

Peach is a 55-pound (25-kilogram) female Kemp's ridley turtle and had the surgery after being found last summer in Charleston Harbor.

The Department of Natural Resources found Peach with fishing line around her head, neck and left front flipper, in addition to running down her mouth into her intestines.

She's been tagged with a satellite transmitter which will allow scientists to study how Kemp's ridley turtles move during the winter months.

© 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Citation: Turtle that swallowed fishing line released in ocean (2017, October 10) retrieved 29 March 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2017-10-turtle-swallowed-fishing-line-ocean.html
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