Most young turtles caught off the coast of Queensland have ingested plastics, new research shows. About 83% of green turtles and 86% of loggerhead turtles found off the coast had plastics within them, a study from Deakin, James Cook and Murdoch universities found. Prof Mark Hamann, from James Cook uni, said plastic pollution had become one of the most pressing threats to marine wildlife. Hamann said one turtle found in the Indian Ocean contained 343 pieces of plastic; another in the Pacific Ocean contained 144. The proportion of turtles that had ingested plastic was much higher in the Pacific than in the Indian Ocean.

Source: The Guardian August 02, 2021 01:41 UTC