30-Pound Loggerhead Sea Turtle Caught Off Canarsie Pier

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- What a catch!

A Queens man fishing at Canarsie Pier in Brooklyn on Wednesday hooked a 30-pound baby loggerhead sea turtle.

The turtle has been taken to the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation where veterinarians will try to remove a hook that has become lodged in the animal's esophagus.

"We will do a further evaluation to see if we can manually remove it," said rescue program director Kimberly Durham. "If not, it will have to be assessed by our veterinarian staff to determine if surgical removal is going to be necessary."

A medical assessment found the turtle is not critical, according to the Riverhead Foundation.

The turtle has a metal flipper tag and a microchip. The Riverhead Foundation has submitted the data from the tags to the sea turtle network for details on the animal's travels.

Durham said the turtle, whose gender has not yet been determined, appears to be between 3- and 5-years-old.

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