Sea turtle found dead, wrapped in plastic trash and fishing line on Florida coast

A sea turtle was found dead on the coast of Florida this week, tangled in plastic waste and a fishing line, local outlets reported.

According to a local ABC station, the turtle’s body was discovered at the Pensacola Beach on Monday. 

Photos began to circulate online showing the turtle ashore, apparently with fish line wrapped around its fin.

A dead sea turtle found near Park East at Pensacola Beach was tangled in fishing line and plastic trash. Another reminder to leave only your footprints when visiting the beach! #DontLitter pic.twitter.com/QqnEtiAKVe

— Brantly Keiek (@BrantlyWx) June 17, 2019

Brantly Keiek, a Florida resident who was able to capture photos of the animal on Monday, told The Hill that he saw local animal control officers documenting the incident shortly after he arrived on the beach.{mosads}

“There was a small group of people gathered on the beach near the deceased turtle and local animal control officers were on scene documenting the incident,” he said.

Keiek said he decided to share photos of the animal on social media in an effort to “help spread awareness about the importance not littering, especially in coastal areas, where animals can mistake trash as food.”

The local Animal Control office in Pensacola did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.

The report comes several months after a team of researchers found plastic in the guts of all sea turtle species examined in a study back in December.

The study looked at more than 100 turtles from all seven species spanning the Atlantic, Pacific and Mediterranean and found over 800 synthetic particles in the bodies of the turtles.