In the Belly of a Sea Turtle
71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by oceans, and 15% of all species inhabit them. Seven of those species are sea turtles; Leatherbacks, Green Turtles, Hawksbills, Loggerheads, Olive Ridleys, Kemp’s Ridleys, and Flatbacks. They are spread across most oceans and can migrate to and from several different oceans each year. No matter how far they swim, they almost always return to the beach where they were born to lay their eggs. Now, their journeys are being laced with billions of hazards due to the activities and negligence of humans. As a result, six of the seven species are on either the threatened or endangered species list.
Imagine, if you will, that you’re sitting down to eat at your favorite restaurant. You receive your first course, a Caesar salad. You take a bite, expecting the vegetal crunch of romaine. Instead, you are met with a mouthful of plastic. You send the salad back and order another menu item. That too is full of plastic. In fact, every single dish available in this restaurant is filled with bits of plastic. Not what you’d call an ideal evening out, I’d assume.
Now imagine you are a sea turtle, and you’ve just noticed a large jellyfish, one of your main sources of food, and you begin to eat it. Not knowing better, you end up consuming an entire single-use plastic bag. No matter where in the vast ocean you go, you can’t tell the difference between your essential food and remnants of plastic. This is one of the leading causes of sea turtle mortality at present. In fact, research estimates that over 50% of the world’s sea turtles have ingested indigestible plastic. Every year, millions of tons of plastic enter the oceans due to human negligence. The most popularized form of plastic in the ocean is of course the plastic straw, but this is only one small facet of the sheer magnitude of plastic items filling our oceans. Items like single use plastic bags, plastic six-pack rings, water bottles, cigarette butts, and more are now part of the aquatic landscape. Over time, these items are broken down by water and become microplastics, or microscopic pieces of plastic that can infiltrate every living being both in the water, and on the land. When humans eat fish, we risk introducing microplastics into our bodies.
A story out of Australia focuses on the rescue of a small sea turtle with multiple injuries and a blockage in its stomach. In the days following, it proceeded to defecate only plastic, for 6 days. The turtle survived and will be released back to its habitat when healthy enough.
Read the article here:
How You Can Help:
Reduce your reliance on plastic products. Use metal water bottles, reusable grocery bags, metal straws, etc. Basically anything you use in daily life that is made of plastic can be exchanged for something more natural and durable.
Participate in cleanups near beaches or common ocean entry points, like storm drains or anything of the sort. It doesn’t even have to be a large cleanup, you can just pick up plastic you find on the ground walking through your neighborhood or city.
