Filmmakers shoot rescue of sea turtle caught in line

TORRANCE (AP) ― A pair of filmmakers shooting wildlife off the coast of Southern California rescued a loggerhead sea turtle that had its four flippers and neck wrapped in the line of a deflated helium balloon.

Bryce Trevett and Angel Hernandez say on March 21 they spotted something shiny floating in the water 12 miles off Palos Verdes Peninsula and realized it was a balloon  ̶  one of several they regularly collect during ocean outings.

As they steered their personal watercraft closer they spotted the tangled juvenile turtle completely immobilized by the line.

Trevett says if a predator had come, the turtle wouldn’t have had a chance. He used a knife to free the turtle as Hernandez filmed the animal swiftly swimming away.

Trevett and Hernandez are working on a wildlife series called “Take to the Wild,” the Orange County Register reported.