Footage shows one of two Olive Ridley sea turtles found trapped by conservationists in an abandoned fishing net off the coast of Gan, Maldives.

The filmers were eventually able to save both turtles (only one is shown) and they only had minor injuries to their back flippers.

When they found the turtles, sharks were circling underneath waiting for them to tire themselves out.

Thousands of marine animals die every year because they get tangled up in 'ghost' fishing equipment and tire themselves out trying to escape.

It's estimated that approximately 640,000 tonnes of gear is lost by fishermen every year across the world's oceans.

This juvenile Olive Ridley sea turtle was one of two sea turtles found entangled in a large ghost net (abandoned fishing net)in the Maldives. The ghost net was found floating on the surface of the water, when we jumped in we saw small sharks circling underneath waiting for the turtles to exhaust themselves. Luckily we found them in time to release both turtles (only one shown in this video) escaping with only minor injuries to the back flippers (where the net had entangled the turtle)

It is estimated that every year approximately 640,000 tons of ghost gear are lost globally. Ghost gear continues to fish and entangle animals in a process called ghost fishing. Thousands of marine animals die every year as a result of this type of marine debris