My dad just read out a fantastic news article to me which was written in todays Toronto's Sunday Sun newspaper and I wanted to share it with you:
SYDNEY, N.S. -- The coast guard has freed a tangled leatherback turtle caught in fishing gear off Inverness, N.S., after a local resident spotted some bobbing buoys in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Chris Basker called the department of fisheries and oceans and they called the coast guard. Capt. Bill Hardy of Sydney, N.S., said they found a pair of buoys attached to an anchor and a large leatherback turtle with its right front flipper caught in the rope.
"We estimated it was 600-700 pounds," he said. "I reached over with my pocket knife and cut him loose. He took off like a shot. We were ecstatic."
Isn't that just wonderful to read a HAPPY story rather than a sad one. For once I hear of a turtle being saved and having a happy ending rather then 'an autopsy will be performed to find out how much plastic was floating in its belly' or 'the poor innocent turtle had no chance once the fishermen speared its side and sliced open her belly searching for eggs'. Yes I know I can be quite cynical sometimes but there are more often sad stories than happy endings AND THIS WAS DEFINITELY A HAPPY ENDING!! Who knows......maybe it was one of the girls I was fortunate enough to meet and protect while volunteering in Panama!!
**Please note that the above picture does not represent the story that took place in Nova Scotia, rather it was taken in 1995. Credit goes to: Nova Scotia Turtles but describes the same situation of a leatherback tangled in net**
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