In Thailand on the island of Ko Haa, a group of Scubafish divers recently rescued three sea turtles struggling for their lives.

It was the end of a beautiful day diving when the boat captain spotted something unusual floating on the surface of the water. As the divers got closer they found a huge discarded fishing net with three entangled turtles, trapped and struggling to breathe.

Two distressed turtles were freed from the net and made a swift dive down to safety. The third was so badly entangled, the divers lifted her onto their boat to cut her free.

It was a painstaking and distressing task. This net was literally choking the turtle to death. It took half an hour to free this beautiful marine creature.

“As we set her free our main worry was that her fin was too badly damaged to be able to heal and recover. But at least she was free to take her chances in the open ocean again and continue onwards on her annual swim towards the beach where she was born, to nest and lay her eggs,” said Saffron Kiddy, Scubafish.

While AWARE divers are underwater diving against debris Project AWARE continues to fight at the highest levels possible to create effective, impactful change for the ocean and for our collective future. We can prevent marine debris from entering the ocean, and stop marine animals needlessly suffocating.

You might not be in a position to save a sea turtle today, but please consider a gift to help rescue the ocean from suffocating debris. Whatever you can give will help make a difference.

This story highlights the amazing actions of the Scubafish team. As Debris Month of Action draws to a close thank you to AWARE diver across the globe who make it their daily duty to protect our ocean planet, one dive at a time.  Your efforts are inspirational.