Tiny turtle found dead with 104 pieces of plastic in its intestines
A tiny turtle that washed up dead on a beach in Florida was found to have eaten 104 pieces of plastic, campaigners said.
The Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton shared the plight of the tiny creature on its Facebook page, along with the picture of the turtle and the pieces of plastic found inside it.
The centre wrote: “Not such a happy #TurtleTuesday this week. It's washback season at Gumbo Limbo and weak, tiny turtles are washing up along the coastline needing our help.
“Unfortunately, not every washback survives. 100% of our washbacks that didn't make it had plastic in their intestinal tracts. This turtle, which would fit in the palm of your hand, had eaten 104 pieces of plastic.
“This is a sad reminder that we all need to do our part to keep our oceans plastic free.”
The Gumbo Limbo Nature Center is part of the Friends of Gumbo Limbo - a non-profit organisation that supports the research, education and conservation efforts of the Gumbo Limbo Environmental Complex.
As part of a cooperative project of the City of Boca Raton, the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District, Florida Atlantic University, and Friends of Gumbo Limbo, the centre monitors more than 800 sea turtle nests each year.
READ MORE
Floating device used to clear plastic from the Pacific Ocean is 'finally doing its job’
River in UK ‘has more plastic than the Great Pacific Garbage Patch’
Newcastle University researchers have warned that up to 10 million tons of plastic are thought to be dumped in the sea each year.
The scientists warned that the ‘great Pacific garbage patch’ where millions of tons of plastic accumulated after being dumped in the seas, might not be alone.
They said there could be more unseen ‘patches’ including one in the Gulf of Guinea off Nigeria’s coast.
