Sea turtles are washing up dead with large pieces of plastic inside their stomachs. The trend is concerning for the future of sea turtle populations and all marine life.
What happened?
According to a new study published in the scientific journal Marine Pollution Bulletin, "the loggerhead turtle has been suggested as a bio-indicator species for plastic pollution [and] of the post-pelagic turtles [analyzed], 42.7% had ingested plastic." Researchers said one individual turtle even had 67 pieces of plastic found inside, weighing 9.66 grams.
"The journey of that Halloween toy — from a child's costume to the inside of a sea turtle — is a fascinating glimpse into the life cycle of plastic," Emily Duncan, a researcher at the Centre for Ecology and Conservation at the University of Exeter's Penryn Campus in Cornwall and one of the study's authors, said in a statement.
Why is this concerning?
The study looked at 135 loggerhead turtles that washed up dead off the coast of Cyprus. The analysis found 492 chunks of plastic combined in the stomachs of those animals.
Loggerhead turtles are already listed as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, due to not just plastic pollution, but also habitat loss, climate change, accidental capture in fishing gear, and poaching of eggs and adults.
The scientists could not determine exactly how big of a role the ingested plastic played in the deaths of these turtles, but it certainly was not a good thing for them. Plastic found in the digestive systems of animals has caused fatal blockages.
There was some speculation that turtles could be especially susceptible to eating plastic because of how closely some of the pollution resembles its natural prey.
"These turtles feed on gelatinous prey such as jellyfish and seabed prey such as crustaceans, and it's easy to see how this item might have looked like a crab claw," Duncan said. "It's likely that turtles ingest the plastics that mostly closely resemble their foods."
What is being done about it?
In order to protect marine life from plastic pollution, drastic steps must be taken to curb the amount of virgin plastic produced in the world.
Some current efforts to help clean up our oceans include using new technologies to remove microplastics from the water, as well as physically removing as much plastic from the oceans as possible.
If you want to limit the amount of plastic you consume, consider taking steps like buying a reusable water bottle and cutting out things like single-use coffee pods.
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