(JP)Scientists find garbage in 70% of green sea turtles' intestines

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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

 

 

 

 

 

 

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