We were on a 62' Viking Convertible Sports Fisherman called Quiteña. We were on a fishing trip that was set to move the boat from Quepos, Costa Rica to to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. After leaving Quepos, our next stop would be at the first Mexican port, near Huatulco where the boat and fishermen would be registered and licensed for Mexican waters. While motoring and fishing approximately 25 miles off the coast of Guatemala, we came across a snarl of "long liner" fishing tackle that was abandoned or lost by a commercial fisherman. There were three turtles and a booby that had gotten snagged in the ball of twine and hooks.

We stopped the boat to free the animals. If you look closely in the water, under the ball of twine, you'll see that schools of fish had gathered under the mess. It is common to find fish hiding under old logs, discarded pallets and junk in general. This is one of the reason we happened to drive by the snag of long-liner junk. Bigger fish will lurk around the small schools that gather under stuff like this.

We knew the last turtle may not be able to survive with his atrophied fin, but we were many days away from Mexico and knew that the logistics of taking it for help would be expensive and fraught with potential liability.

We freed the animals, fished around the snarl for a short time and then hauled the trash aboard Quiteña. We removed the tackle from the lines and disposed of the rest of the ghost tackle when we got to Mexico.