Fishermen released 22 sea turtles found in their catch.

A bale of Olive Ridleys was caught in the fishing net, prompting anglers to release them back to the sea in Sulu, the Philippines, on October 8.

Footage shows the animals lying on a field of mackerel scads.

Workers can be seen grabbing the turtles and tossing them into the water.

The filmer said: 'The sea turtles got caught during the fishing operation and were immediately released at sea, but unfortunately, our diver who released them didn't see some of them. That's why some still got brought to our vessel.'

Olive ridley turtles are endangered in the Philippines and globally due to human actions, including harvesting for food, accidental capture in fishing nets, marine pollution, and a global population reduction of 30 to 50 per cent.

The Philippines has a community-based effort to protect turtles called the Pawikan Conservation Centre. The Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines (LAMAVE) also works to conserve turtles by building a national database of turtles, using facial scutes to identify turtles, and responding to stranded turtles while collecting data to understand causes of death.