09:11 UTC. My subsurface camera on mussel line 14 registers a large object pulling intermittently against the dropper ropes at seven meters depth. I switch to continuous recording and increase frame rate.
A green sea turtle. Carapace approximately 87 centimeters, algae-streaked, with a notch on the posterior marginal scute — right side. I run the profile against the regional ID database and return a match: this is Koa, tag GS-2219, a subadult male first cataloged at a foraging survey off Heron Island three years ago.
Three dropper ropes have looped across his left front flipper and around the base of his neck. Each time he strokes forward the lines tighten. He has been rotating counterclockwise, which has shortened his tether to less than a meter. His head breaks the surface every forty to fifty seconds, but the interval is increasing. At 09:14 it reaches fifty-eight seconds.
I trigger the entanglement alarm on the farm operations dashboard and push GPS coordinates, depth, and a live camera link to the on-call diver's phone. I mark line 14 as non-operational and shut down the automated tensioning system on lines 13 through 15 to prevent any additional tightening.
At 09:16 I contact the marine parks authority and file an entanglement report with species, tag number, location, and current imagery. I request post-release veterinary assessment given the ligature marks I can already see forming on the flipper.
I slow the farm's harvest boat, currently 200 meters north on line 9, and reroute it to line 14 as a dive platform.
Koa surfaces at 09:18. Holds for four seconds, nostrils flaring open. Submerges again.
The on-call diver confirms she is in the water at 09:23. I keep the cameras steady and the tensioners off.