Marine Debris Poses Threat to Endangered Sea Turtles

According to a report by the Sydney Morning Herald on Sunday, researchers from the Australian Federal Institute of Science and Industry (CSIRO) found hundreds of pieces of plastic in 52 percent of the 1,000 turtle carcasses.  There were various types of garbage, such as hard plastic pieces, balloons, candy shells, and plastic bags which has surprised the researchers. The research team found that consuming plastic garbage is crucially harmful to the turtles, and sometimes it can be the cause of death of turtles. “Although it is already known that many turtles have consumed the plastics, but this is the first time that plastic has been found to kill a turtle,” said Chris Wilcox, a scientist from CSIRO.

The researchers have also stated that even a piece of plastic could lead to the death of turtles. “Some of the turtles we instigate have swallowed a single piece of plastic, the result was horrifying,” exclaimed Chris. Matt McGrath, a BBC journalist, has suggested new creative solutions of this problem to the political leaders. One suggestion was to increase the tax on plastic goods. By doing so, the consumption of plastic rate will reduce, which lead to the reduction of marine debris.

The probability of death of a sea turtle swallowing one piece of plastic is 22 percent, for young turtles have an even higher probability of death then adult turtles,  and the probability of death of a sea turtle swallowing fourteen pieces of plastic is 50 percent. The research team has explained when the turtle swallow more than 20 pieces of plastic reaches 99.7 percent of chances of death of turtle. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), the amount of plastic garbage entering the world’s oceans has doubled over the past two decades. The WEF predicted that if the rate of plastic waste continues to increase, there will be a more plastic waste in the ocean than there will fish in 2050.

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