Marine wildlife experts are urging fishing fans to take more care with their lines and ropes after the death of a rare hawksbill turtle near Hinson’s Island.

It was discovered floating by a member of the public who contacted authorities. The body was removed to the Bermuda Turtle Project.

Gaelle Roth, co-director and veterinarian, called the death a “tragic event caused by lost or discarded fishing line”.

“It was a sub-adult hawksbill turtle found floating by a member of the public, on the south side of Hinson’s Island, on Tuesday, August 4.

“The turtle was severely entangled in monofilament fishing line, wrapped around its flipper and neck. The fishing line was stuck on rope which was attached to the bottom.

“The turtle was found dead and it was dead a few days already, as it was starting to decompose.

“Once the body was collected, I performed a necropsy. The findings were: severe entanglement around the neck and front flipper, causing the turtle to struggle to come to the surface and drown.

“Due to decomposing of the body and its organs, I was not able to confirm if it was male or female.

Dr Roth added: “Hawksbills, while they live on the reefs in Bermuda, are not the most common sea turtle here. Most often we see green turtles. Hawksbills have been exploited globally for the beautiful pattern of their shells.”

She had this message for the public and fishing fans in particular: “Don’t leave your fishing gear in the ocean — and if you find lost gear in the water, remove it and dispose of it safely and appropriately.

“This helps to keep our marine wildlife safe and our oceans healthy.”

She highlighted the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo hotline for wildlife rescue, which is 293-2727, extension 999.

David Godfrey, the executive director of the Florida-based Sea Turtle Conservancy, said of the tragedy: “Anytime we lose an individual hawksbill turtle, which is internationally recognised as a critically endangered species, it is a setback for the recovery of this animal.

“They are very rare and face an uphill battle to survival, even without human-caused mishaps that keep reducing their numbers.

“The Sea Turtle Conservancy has been working to recover this species for nearly 70 years, and they are nowhere near out of the woods yet.”

Mr Godfrey added: “I can tell you that the Bermuda Turtle Project has been catching, tagging and releasing sea turtles for over 50 years in Bermuda, and if we are lucky we catch and tag a single hawksbill each year.

“We do see slightly increasing numbers on the Caribbean coast of Panama, which hosts one of the larger nesting aggregations remaining in the world.

“In an average year, we see less than 3,000 hawksbill nests combined on some of the most productive nesting beaches for this species.

“By comparison, we document tens of thousands of green turtle nests each year in Florida and Costa Rica. Greens are the most dominant species found in Bermuda, though they don’t actually nest on the island.”