Georgia, rescuers free manatee entangled in crab-pot line in first documented case

A federally protected Florida manatee was freed after becoming entangled in crab-pot gear in Georgia waters near St. Simons Island, in what Grice Connect says is the first documented case in the state. The incident unfolded in the Mackay and Hampton rivers after a fishing guide reported the problem on July 29. Captain Davis Galland sent Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources photos showing an adult female with a crab-pot line and a buoy tightened around her body near her head and right pectoral flipper. On July 30, a three-boat team—including Georgia DNR, Florida and federal partners plus Clearwater Marine Aquarium and Savannah State University’s lab—disentangled the animal.