Given how deep the water was, we hadn’t been particularly hopeful that we might see anything. All you could see was the sand on the bottom. But as the three of us snorkelled around the corner of the bay, we spotted a hawksbill turtle struggling in the water below and swimming in circles.
Turtles usually swim off when they see humans but this one didn’t move away. It just kept coming up to the surface, going down and circling again. It seemed very odd.
Then, we realised what was happening. The poor thing had a fishing hook cutting deep into the flesh of its neck and the line was caught on a rock on the bottom
We desperately wanted to help but we didn't know what to do. After all, we weren’t turtle experts, just a group of water-loving friends who had decided to go snorkelling on our holiday in Barbados.
- The 7 different types of sea turtle
- Watch mesmerising, heart-stopping BBC footage – narrated by David Attenborough – showing baby turtles freezing alive
The three of us had ventured further from the shore than the other snorkellers because we’re all strong swimmers. We like to lie quietly on the surface of the water watching the fishes’ natural behaviour without people splashing and scaring them away. So there was no-one nearby who could help.
We didn't want to agitate the animal, which was already distressed. At a recent visit to a turtle sanctuary, the team had told us never to approach a wild sea turtle because they could pack a nasty bite. But they had demonstrated how to hold a turtle without getting bitten, which you do by grabbing it by the shell from behind their head.
So we made a plan. My friends Alwyn and Tony dived down and brought the turtle to the surface, holding the shell like we’d learned at the sanctuary. It must have been an adult as it was so big that it took both of them to hold it.
Once they had it in their grasp, it seemed to relax and didn’t fight against them. I got a sense that it knew we didn’t mean it any harm and that we were trying to help.
But we had no way of helping. Fishing hooks are designed so that they don’t come out easily. This one had barbs on it to stop it coming out the way it went in. Trying to pull the hook out might have driven it in further and would have caused the turtle serious pain and distress. And we had nothing with us to remove it. We didn't even have a knife.
Then, I had an idea. I've got quite strong teeth (I always got in trouble as a child for cracking nuts with my teeth) so my first instinct was to see if I could bite through the nylon cord. My friends held the turtle still – making sure its face was out of the water so it could breathe – and I gnawed through the cord until there was only a tiny piece left.
I was careful to make sure the remaining line was too short to get caught again. Once we’d freed it from the line that was keeping it trapped at the bottom, it swam away.
We were still concerned about the hook itself but we had no way to get it out without causing more damage. At least this way, it was freed from the rock it was tangled up with at the bottom and could easily reach the surface and find food. If we’d left it, it would have soon tired from struggling against the line and I think it would have drowned or starved – there was no vegetation it could reach, only sand stretching across the bay.
When we got back, I realised that my gopro memory card was full and hadn't saved any of the pictures I had taken. But I don't need photos. I'll take the memory of saving that turtle to my grave.
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- “That’s unbelievable.” Scientists strapped a camera to a turtle. What it filmed shocked them all
- “Lying for more than three hours in freezing water left me close to hypothermic.” A wildlife photographer on capturing the perfect shot
Jaci Hart, a wildlife lover and qualified photographer spoke to Melissa Hobson. As Jaci approaches retirement, she looks forward to having the freedom to get more involved in conservation initiatives.
