Really bad video quality. But I hope it helps to locate the turtle and free it from the lure in its mouth.
Maybe some of the background story (for people wondering how this video fits in): I contacted Sealife rescue from Seaworld via their contact form on July 14 informing them of the turtle with a lure stuck to it. The next morning I was very positively surprised to find an email from the PA to the manager of the Marine Science Division in my inbox folder asking for details. There were a few emails going back and forth - all very professional and forthcoming. Posting this video is a result of it. Sending large files is still annoying via email. It would be great if it would help to assess the situation and maybe help professional intervention in this case. I doubt that it would be traumatic for the turtle or very costly in terms of an intervention but it could greatly increase the turtle's chances of survival.
It was unusual behaviour that the turtle swam towards me unsuspecting of my presence until it almost bumped into me. It is not often that I encounter turtles and if I do, they are often sick and covered in algae. This one was the biggest in that area ever (and I first thought an eagle ray was approaching me, being taken by the elegance of the striking wings and thinking that it is a bit of an unusual mouth until realising my mistake). I don't think it is the turtle that used to hang around in the area a while ago. The lure looks shiny and new, the turtle still healthy. I could not determine if the mobility of its left front flipper was restricted at all and where exactly it was hooked. But the Seaway is a dangerous place with a lure and that much fishing line and substrate stuck to an animal. A few of the Seaway fishermen use big triple hooks and braided steel lines that will never fall off. I have freed or tried to free many fish and morays hooked on abandoned fishing line. But I am unsure how many of them survived.
So, let's hope for the best for the turtle. I will keep this (embarrassingly bad video) posted for a while in case I'll get a feedback in this matter.
P.S. On a positive note: I found my personal Seaway species No. 150 on the same dive - a real beauty and rarely found. Check out www.amateurbranching.com.
Here is the video of probably the biggest branch that I have ever seen. It was a whopper - as long as my forearm, but much thicker.
The Octopus is around quite often. During night dives Octopus and big crabs are often met in a stand-off and fight for their lives. I spotted a big crab out in the sand fast approaching my torch light. That's when the Octopus joined the scene.
Feeding octopus (an old video)
Smoothnose Wedgefish, Leopard shark and Bull ray
A collage of older video snippets of a few Elasmobranchs.
Decorator crab
A decorator crab (probably Campbell's spider crab) is going for a walk. This is one of my older videos featuring that elusive creature.
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