Turre man praised after diving into sea to rescue trapped turtle

A young man from Turre has been applauded for his quick response to save a turtle out in the open water.

Late in the morning, Rubén Piñero and a couple of friends were out on a boat, just off the coast of Marina de la Torre, when he spotted a loggerhead sea turtle struggling to swim. From a distance, it seemed the turtle was wrapped up in something white and balloon-like.

Turre man rescues sea turtle from plastic bag

Rubén immediately dived in to help. He quickly but cautiously approached the animal and saw it was trapped in a plastic bag. The ties were tangled around its neck and front flippers, making it difficult for the turtle to swim.

Holding the turtle gently in two hands, Rubén swam back to the boat where his friend was waiting with a pair of scissors. They freed the turtle’s head first, where the plastic had pulled tight and dug into its flesh, before moving on to the flippers.

Once completely free from the plastic bag, Rubén checked the turtle for any other injuries before releasing it back into the water. In the video of the incident shared on social media, the turtle is clearly relieved to finally be able to swim again. Instantly, it dived down deep and swam off.

Plastic pollution poses major threat to sea turtles

Without intervention, the turtle likely would have died. Of all the natural predators out there in the water, plastic poses one of the biggest threats to sea turtles. Turtles often mistake plastic for food, or get entangled in the waste, much like the Mojácar turtle did. Scientists estimate at least 1,000 sea turtles die each year due to entanglement in plastic, equivalent to more than one turtle every nine hours.

The scale of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans is enormous. Between 5 million and 13 million metric tonnes of plastic waste are estimated to enter the oceans every year, equivalent to a rubbish truck full of plastic being dumped into the sea every minute.

Sea turtles are affected by plastic in two main ways: ingestion and entanglement.

A plastic bag can resemble a jelly fish, while other pieces can be accidentally swallowed alongside other food. Once inside the digestive system, plastic can cause intestinal damage, or make it feel full when it isn’t leading to starvation.

Entanglement can be just as dangerous. Getting caught up in plastic waste restricts a turtle’s movement, preventing it from swimming, feeding or reaching the surface to breath.

Almeria’s efforts to protect loggerhead turtle nests

Almeria is dedicated to the protection and conservation of sea turtles. These efforts include protecting nests, moving vulnerable eggs to safer locations when necessary and caring for hatchlings during their first year of life. Only recently, in June 2026, 27 turtles were released back into the sea in Mojácar.

These conservation programmes offer hope for the loggerhead turtle along the Almería coast, but the work cannot compensate for the dangers created by careless human activity.

Ruben’s rescue of the Mojácar turtle is a reminder that protecting marine life also depends on preventing plastic and other waste from reaching the sea in the first place. Beachgoers and anyone else spending time on the water, is reminded to properly dispose of any and all waste, keeping the ocean clean for all the species who call it home.