Doctors Save Sea Turtle That Swallowed 4 Feet Of Fishing Line

A sea turtle that swallowed more than 4 feet of fishing line has been released in the Atlantic Ocean after undergoing surgery.

By Doug Lazy on October 11, 2017
LADY ELLIOT ISLAND, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 15: A Hawksbill sea turtle is seen swimming on January 15, 2012 in Lady Elliot Island, Australia. Lady Elliot Island is one of the three island resorts in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMPA) with the highest designated classification of Marine National Park Zone by GBRMPA. The island of approximately 40 hectares lies 46 nautical miles north-east of the Queensland town of Bundaberg and is the southern-most coral cay of the Great Barrier Reef.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — A sea turtle that swallowed more than 4 feet (1 meter) of fishing line has been released in the Atlantic Ocean off South Carolina’s coast after undergoing surgery.

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 to remove the fishing line.

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 that will allow scientists to study how Kemp’s ridley turtles move during the winter months.

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