This is the heartwarming moment an endangered baby green sea turtle was rescued after it was found tangled in fishing nets in the Philippines.

The struggling 10 inch-long creature was seen by fishermen who went to retrieve pieces of their sunken boat off the coast of Ayungin Shoal in Spratly Islands on July 19.

As one of the fishermen collected the debris, he noticed movements in a discarded net so he pulled it up to the surface to check.

Upon unravelling the tool, they found the juvenile animal struggling to move with its short flippers inside. The group then cut the net to free the animal and released it to the sea.

Fisherman Lausa Banjo said: ‘Our boat sank due to bad weather a few days ago but we were able to come to shore safely through other boats.

‘When my friend and I returned to clean up our debris, we found a net drifting. My friend took it as it appeared to have something moving inside and then we saw the turtle.’

The baby turtle swam away after being tossed back to the water while the fishermen continued to clean up the water.

Green sea turtles are classified as endangered by the nongovernment organisation International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Their population has been reduced due to overharvesting of their eggs, hunting of adults, being caught in fishing gear and loss of nesting beach sites.