Pacific green sea turtle spotted in San Joaquin River near Stockton

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Lost tropical sea turtle spotted in San Joaquin River

A Northern California fisherman was on the San Joaquin River when he spotted a rare tropical sea turtle, and marine biologists are on the hunt to rescue it before it's too late.

STOCKTON, Calif. (KGO) -- People up and down the San Joaquin River near Stockton are on the lookout after an unexpected visitor appeared -- a Pacific green sea turtle.

Dan Maloon captured the rare sighting of the reptile on video.

Sea turtles, as the name implies, belong in the ocean. This particular one was 80 miles from the water.

The National Marine and Fisheries Service has been alerted and a lot of people are looking for this lonely turtle.

Marine biologists say the turtle was really off course as the closest nesting area is the central coast of Mexico. As a result, experts say it could be in trouble because it needs much warmer water to survive.

Wildlife experts said it likely went north into San Francisco Bay and now seems to be heading east.

KABC contributed to this report.