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ARCHIVED - The price of plastic; dead turtle washes up on La Manga beach
This turtle was washed up on the Mediterranean coastline at km 14 of la Manga del Mar Menor
Warning after warning is published about why we need to stop plastic washing into our oceans, but nothing brings home the tragedy of what plastic waste means in real terms than an image like this of a turtle washed up dead on the beach in our own region, its legs wrapped in plastic waste.
So much love, effort and work has gone into trying to increase the population of loggerheads in the oceans here in the region after 21 baby turtles were hatched on one of our beaches, the first in 100 years.
The 21 youngsters were nurtured and cared for until they had reached a kilo in weight before being released into the Mediterranean this summer and excitement was high when three further clutches of eggs were laid on our beaches this summer; these are now growing steadily in sheltered conditions so that they can be released once their chances of survival are higher.
But this image is the reality of why their chances of survival are so slim.
As well as facing the perils of motorboat engines, jet-skis and natural predators, they must contend with fishing waste and plastic, which they frequently ingest mistaking it for jelly fish and then die, starving to death on the surface of the ocean, their stomachs bloated with indigestible plastic that prevents them from diving for food.
Or tangled up in broken fishing nets or plastic, as is the case with this turtle which was found on La Manga del Mar Menor at Km 14 last week.
We have been warned time and time again about the quantities of plastic accumulating on the seabed, slowly disintegrating over hundreds of years to form micro-plastics which enter our own food chain, choking our oceans.
And all of us can do something to stop this happening; sign petitions run by wildlife organisations, join in clean-ups to stop plastic blowing into the sea, make a conscious effort not to buy products wrapped in plastic, recycle plastic bags by always re-using bags when buying fruit and vegetables loose instead of always taking new ones, pick up litter instead of walking past it and support campaigns calling for change.
If we don´t, then this will continue to be a sadly common sight on beaches around the world….until there are no more turtles left to wash up dead on our beaches, killed by plastic waste.
Thanks to Helen Egan; Planet Egan Ltd. for the image,