A large female green sea turtle was rescued after becoming trapped in a swimming pool at Rum Point during routine beach monitoring on July 16, according to the Cayman Islands Department of Environment (DoE).

The DoE said members of its Turtle Team discovered the turtle in the ground-level pool and responded to remove the animal safely. Researchers Alex Prat and Joe Roche led the rescue, assisted by a DoE conservation officer and other members of the Turtle Team.

According to the Department, the turtle, which weighed approximately 400 pounds, was safely lifted from the pool, checked by researchers, tagged and released back into the sea.

The Department said that while the rescue was dramatic, similar incidents are not uncommon during the sea turtle nesting season.

Female sea turtles come ashore at night to lay eggs. The DoE explained that artificial lighting visible from beaches and the removal of native coastal vegetation can disorient nesting turtles, causing them to crawl into developed areas instead of returning directly to the sea. Where swimming pools are built at ground level, turtles can fall in and become trapped.

The Department encouraged beachfront property owners to help reduce the risk to nesting turtles by retaining and restoring native coastal vegetation, reducing artificial lighting visible from the beach, removing beach furniture and small watercraft from active nesting beaches overnight, and incorporating turtle-friendly measures into pool design. It also advised that ground-level pools should not be left empty during nesting season unless suitable turtle-exclusion fencing is installed, as turtles that fall into empty pools could suffer serious injury or be killed.

The DoE said the rescued turtle was successfully returned to the ocean and highlighted the importance of practical beachfront management in protecting nesting sea turtles during the breeding season.