Guest guest Posted March 3, 2002 Report Share Posted March 3, 2002 http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20020304wo71.htm Scientists find garbage in 70% of green sea turtles' intestines Yomiuri Shimbun About 70 percent of green sea turtles that visit waters near the Ogasawara Islands have consumed garbage, including polyethylene bags, string and fishing line, according to the findings of a study by a Tokyo University of Fisheries team. The islands are the largest spawning ground for green sea turtles in the country. The traditional catching of the turtles is held in spring around the islands, with a catch quota imposed. Last spring, together with the Ogasawara Natural Culture Research Institute, Prof. Seichi Watanabe of Tokyo University of Fisheries and Takanori Sako analyzed the contents of the digestive organs of dissected green sea turtles. They found 25 of the 36 turtles had ingested garbage, most of which was membranous plastics such as polyethylene bags. Styrene foam and rubber bands were also discovered. One turtle suffered from an intestinal obstruction caused by its swallowing a bag measuring 75 centimeters by 25 centimeters. The average volume of garbage in the turtles' digestive organs was 2.7 percent, the study found. Because the green sea turtle is an endangered species, the turtles cannot be killed in large numbers for research, with the result that little data exist on the ecology of the turtle. It is believed that the largely herbivorous green sea turtles eat membranous plastics because they look similar to some types of seaweed. Sako said that since the turtles swim in an extensive area, it was hard to tell where they ate the garbage, but added that the team would continue to study how long the garbage had remained in the turtles' bodies and what kind of physiological impact it had had. Copyright 2002 The Yomiuri Shimbun Sports - sign up for Fantasy Baseball http://sports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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