PORT SALERNO, Fla. (AP) -- As many as a thousand sharks and fish were found dead when federal officials pulled a large abandoned fishing net from the ocean.

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Two divers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, accompanied by state officers and two commercial fishing vessels, pulled the 500-yard "ghost net" from nearly 80 feet of water.

A loggerhead sea turtle also was found dead in the net Thursday.

"We have an investigation under way (in) reference to that ghost net," said Jeff Radonski, a special agent with NOAA's fisheries enforcement division in Miami. "It's a crime scene just like anywhere else. We pick up clues and leads from that."

The net, made of thick fabric lines to catch coastal sharks, was first spotted a week ago off the coast of St. Lucie Inlet.

The "sheer weight of all the animals" kept the Coast Guard from retrieving the net last week, divers said.

"It was pretty gruesome," diver Nick Chrobak said.

The mid-sized turtle, bloated and dead for days, was measured and documented by biologists from the Florida Marine Research Institute and later taken to a laboratory to be preserved as evidence


Lets hope they nail the bastards
:af: :af: