A Maltese fisherman that came across a turtle in a bit of trouble has saved the creature after freeing it from some trash its right fin was tightly wrapped in. In the video uploaded by George Spiteri, the panicked turtle is brought aboard the ship, where it waves its fins erratically.

The fisherman onboard attempts to lay the turtle out to begin removing the ropes and plastic wrapped around its fin, during which the turtle is seen opening its mouth and moving around.

However, as soon as the fisherman begins cutting the rope away, the turtle visibly calms down.

Eventually the fin is freed, and an amount of old rope is removed from the turtle’s mouth, clearing it of all the human waste that the turtle had become entangled in.

The video ends with the fisherman smiling and the turtle seemingly waving as the Mediterranean sun shines behind them.

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Johnathan Cilia

Johnathan is an award-winning Maltese journalist interested in social justice, politics, minority issues, music and food. Follow him at @supreofficialmt on Instagram, and send him news, food and music stories at [email protected]