NEW YORK, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- A New York City angler said he was surprised when he caught a 30-pound sea turtle off a Brooklyn pier.

Kaheem Evans, 23, was fishing from the Canarsie Pier Wednesday when he caught the turtle, the New York Daily News reported.


The turtle, Evans said, appeared to be a baby loggerhead and weighed about 30 pounds and was about 2 feet long.

Loggerhead turtles can grow to be about 3 feet long and weigh as much as 300 pounds.

"I've been fishing here since I was a kid, but I've never caught a turtle," said Evans.

Evans notified wildlife officials and a rescue crew retrieved the turtle.

"It's just a good thing the fisherman knew enough to call us," said Rob DiGiovanni, executive director of the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation.