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Kennedy brothers told they ‘violated federal law’ when they rescued distressed 500lb leatherback turtle tangled in fishing line
- Protected species status bars public from touching turtles
- Agency warns of drowning danger as large species can drag people under
PUBLISHED: 17:23 GMT, 17 July 2013 | UPDATED: 11:34 GMT, 18 July 2013
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When Max and Robert Kennedy Jr. dived into the sea off Nantucket to free a large leatherback turtle tangled in fishing line, they had the best interests of the endangered animal at heart.
However, their ‘good deed’ violated a law that protects the endangered animals from being interfered with by people, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The Kennedys had been sailing off Nantucket on July 6 when they spotted the 500lb turtle in distress and decided to help.
Sea rescue: The Kennedy brothers dived into the sea off Nantucket to help a distressed leatherback turtle
A video filmed by passengers on their yacht, shows the men struggle to calm the turtle as they cut away the buoy line that was wrapped around its head and fin.
John Bullard, of the NOAA, said: ‘We’ve explained what they’ve done is a violation of the Endangered Species Act and we discourage people from doing it.’
He explained that it can be dangerous trying to help the large turtles, and said there was a risk of rescuers becoming entangled and dragged down.
There was also a risk of being pulled under by a turtle, which can weigh up to 700lb and hold its breath a lot longer than a human can, he told the Huffington Post.
‘You can get entangled, go under and it can turn into a tragedy,’ Mr Bullard added.
Distressed: The Kennedys cut the line wrapped around the turtle, but were later told their actions violated environmental laws
Since being alerted to the dangers of the rescue mission, Robert Kennedy Jr released a statement, according to the Cape Cod Times.
‘When we spotted a sea turtle in trouble over the 4th of July weekend, our first impulse was to do what we could to help free the animal,’ he said.
‘But we realize that the action we took was pretty risky, these are large, powerful animals.’
The brothers, the sons of the late Senator Robert Kennedy, are both licensed wildlife rehabilitators.
Max Kennedy spotted the distressed turtle first, signalling what would become a 35-minute rescue operation.
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‘It was clearly gonna die, so we went in, and we cut the rope off it,’ Robert Kennedy said a few days after the successful rescue.
However, wildlife officials recommend members of the public call for help, because it is illegal to handle the protected species.
People who approach endangered species can face a written warning and fines starting at $1,000 and rising to $23,000 depending on the level of interaction and intention, according to the NOAA.
Only the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies is certified to handle turtles in the region, and an environmental officer would also have been able to tag the turtle and collect vital information about the species.
Scott Landry, director of marine animal entanglement response for the Provincetown Center, told the Cape Cod Times: ‘We urge people not to do this. We understand that people are very well-intentioned.’
Mission: Robert Kennedy Jr, left, and his brother Max, spotted the leatherback while sailing in Nantucket
Protected: The leatherback turtle is so endangered is it against the law for the public to touch them
The Kennedys were able to help the center however, by supplying pictures and evidence of the type of line wrapped around the turtle.
Since being given protected species status in the U.S. numbers of leatherback sea turtles, which can hold their breath for up to 85 minutes, have started to stabilize in the Atlantic.
The number of reports of tangled turtles has increased to 22 in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York this year, up from eight in the same period last year.