Abstract
This study describes four cases of loggerhead sea turtles with fishhooks in the gastrointestinal tract. Two dead turtles with a hook in the esophagus had local fibrosis with an invagination of the keratinized stratified squamous epithelium surrounding the hook, isolating it from the subjacent stroma, one had a hook in the cloaca which was expelled spontaneously, and one had plication of the intestine with necrosis caused by the long monofilament line attached to the hook lodged in the esophagus. Lethal injuries were related to the effect of strangulation and traction produced by the line throughout the gastrointestinal tract rather than the presence of the hook in the esophageal mucosa. Hook size, point of attachment to the gastrointestinal tract, the presence or not of a long monofilament line, and the traction applied by it could be crucial for turtle survival.
Highlights
This study describes four cases of loggerhead sea turtles with fishhooks in the gastrointestinal tract
Damage caused by long-term hooking in tissues has not been evaluated. This short report describes four cases of turtles admitted to the Rescue Center for Marine Animals (CRAM), Premiade Mar, Barcelona, Spain, with fishhooks in the gastrointestinal tract
Histologic examination showed an invagination of the keratinized stratified squamous epithelium that normally covers the esophageal papillae surrounding the hook (Fig. 1B) and isolates it from the subjacent stroma
Summary
This study describes four cases of loggerhead sea turtles with fishhooks in the gastrointestinal tract. In some areas, such as the Mediterranean sea, fishhook ingestion causes traumatic injuries in the gastrointestinal tract, leading to death in some cases (Pont and Alegre, 2000; Di Bello et al, 2006a). Turtles with multiple hooks lodged in the gastrointestinal tract are able to keep feeding, and in some cases, the hooks are expelled spontaneously (Aguilar et al, 1995; Alegre et al, 2006).
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