Wildlife rescue at sea

A crew member from HMCS Whitehorse rescues sea turtles trapped in netting in the Pacific Ocean during Operation Caribbe. Photo by Op Caribbe Imagery Technician

Captain Annie Morin, Public Affairs Officer on Operation Caribbe ~

While deployed on Operation Caribbe, HMC Ships Yellowknife and Whitehorse were able to save seven sea turtles from a dire situation on four separate occasions over the first two days of April.

On routine patrol in their respective areas, the bridge teams in both ships spotted tangles of debris on the water’s surface before realizing it was sea turtles caught in fishing net and used plastic bottles.

Debris is regularly investigated as it could be bales of drugs jettisoned by smugglers. With each ship’s respective Commanding Officer’s permission, the crews were sent out in a Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat to examine the floating mass.

Determined to save them, the team cut away the netting until they were free; gently releasing them back into the ocean.

Yellowknife and Whitehorse are currently deployed on Operation Caribbe in the Pacific Ocean, Canada’s contribution to Operation Martillo, a U.S. Joint Interagency Task Force South operation responsible for conducting interagency and international detection and monitoring operations and facilitating the interdiction of illicit trafficking.