Green turtle found in Chantaburi, full of plastic

The reporting of the deaths of these magnificent marine creatures, found to be riddled with plastic they’ve unfitly consumed as they feed in the seas off Thailand, puts more pressure on the Thai Government. Let’s hope their deaths are not in vain.

A green turtle has died in Chanthaburi’s Laem Sing district after consuming a vast quantity of plastic. A Facebook page, ReReef, posted the tragic story to warn yet again of the dangers posed by plastic garbage to marine life around the coasts of Thailand.

The page recounted that the turtle was found on a beach near the Leam Chabang deep seaport on June 4.

It said that local vets from the Marine and Coastal Resources Department battled for two days to save the reptile but in the end their efforts were in vain. The vets found that its stomach was stuffed with various small pieces of garbage, including plastic ropes, plastic bags, elastic rings and fishing equipment. Vets concluded the vast amount of plastic inside the turtle caused it to lose appetite so it stopped eating.

That led to body fluid flooding its stomach and the tissue around its heart, resulting in its eventual death from heart failure.

The careless disposal of plastic rubbish in Thailand’s beaches and seas has become an issue of great concern recently – only last week a short-finned pilot whale found in a Songkhla canal died after its body became overwhelmed by the ingestion of rubbish.

After its death, the Marine and Coastal Resources Department reported that during a post mortem they found 80 plastic bags weighing about 8 kilograms inside its stomach.

Re4Reef’s Facebook page HERE.

STORY: The Nation