Media Advisory 8.5
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Two Leatherback Turtles Disentangled in Cape Waters Wednesday

(Eastham, Cape Cod, MA) - Just before 8 p.m. on Wednesday, a disentanglement team led by the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies (PCCS) freed a leatherback turtle entangled in fishing gear off Kingsbury Beach near Rock Harbor.

A recreational fisherman reported the entanglement to the PCCS hotline at 1.800.900.3622, and stood by until a boat from the Eastham Department of Natural Resources transported the disentanglement crew to the scene.

Brian Sharp, who led the disentanglement effort, lists team members as: Mike O'Connor of Eastham DNR; Connie Merigo of New England Aquarium; Kara Dodge of University of New Hampshire, and Sarah Herzig of the Cape Cod Stranding Network.

PCCS, UNH, NEAq & Coast Guard Disentangle Leatherback Turtle off Chatham

(Provincetown, Cape Cod, MA) - A 6' leatherback turtle entangled in the buoy line from a single trap of fishing gear was freed through a joint effort by the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies, the Coast Guard, and two researchers from the University of New Hampshire and New England Aquarium, approximately 5.5 miles southwest of Monomoy Light off Chatham today.

The animal was spotted by a fisherman just before 7 a.m. Wednesday morning. The animal would have been impossible to relocate if the fisherman, who originally reported the turtle, had not stayed in the area.

"The entanglement consisted of three wraps around the right pectoral flipper, seven around the left pectoral, and seven wraps around the head," said Brian Sharp of PCCS, a member of the Marine Mammal Disentanglement Program. "All lines were removed from the turtle, completely disentangling it. Before release the turtle was tagged with a PIT (Passive Integrated Transponder) tag and two rear flipper tags for identification. The turtle was measured and biological samples (skin and mucus) were taken," he added.

"We used a new restraint harness in this disentanglement operation that is part of a system that we are developing with UNH and NEAq that will allow us to better disentangle turtles, as well as enable us to fit them with a satellite tag (in future entanglement cases)," added Sharp. "UNH has developed the satellite tags that will be able to monitor the animal's location as well as the depths to which it is diving. These tags are made to fall off of the turtle after one year," he explained..

All operations today off Chatham and Eastham were performed as part of the Massachusetts Sea Turtle Disentanglement Network (MASTDN), which PCCS manages. All operations of MASTDN are performed under the authorization of the National Marine Fisheries Service and support from Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. Mariners are encouraged to call the Marine Animal Entanglement Hotline at 1-800-900-3622 with any sightings of entangled turtles or whales. PCCS thanks Kara Dodge, University of New Hampshire; Connie Merigo, New England Aquarium; and Adam Johnson and Tom Barossi of Coast Guard Station Chatham for their assistance today.

For information call Theresa Mitchell Barbo, director of communications: 774.263.4219.

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