Ten sea turtles washed ashore on Thai beaches in the past 3 months

 

(Photo) Nantarika Chunsue

 

Ten rare sea turtles have been washed ashore on Thailand’s beaches in the past three months, some of them already dead. The survivors are being treated by veterinarians. The turtles’ problems were all caused by plastic waste dumped into the sea by humans.

 

Thorn Thamrongnavasawat, vice dean of the Faculty of Fisheries at Kasetsart University, admitted today that he was shocked to find out that five sea turtles have been washed up in just the past 4-5 days.

 

He said that some of them were found alive, like the one which landed on Pha-ngan Island in the southern province of Surat Thani and another on Thai Muang beach in Phuket province.

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/ten-sea-turtles-washed-ashore-on-thai-beaches-in-the-past-3-months/

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2019-07-04

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Poor things are trying to escape the polluted waters.

Excerpt from the full story:

He suggested the use of drones or satellites to trace plastic refuse in the sea and on beaches and the information should be kept in database so that authorities concerned can take steps to get rid of the plastic once it accumulates to a level requiring disposal.

 

You don’t need drones to see what we know is already out there. Don’t wait for it to accumulate, make necessary steps to prevent it occurring.

A vow from the PM may be too late for these turtles and other species 

who live in that environment,  

a scourge man made problem, that requires all to do our part in cleaning up and refusing to use plastics, when ever possible.

A continuing battle to change bad habits.

Thorn said he has been campaigning against the dumping of plastic waste in the sea for more than two decades but found that campaigning alone is not enough.

 

Amen. Thailand has a love affair with plastic and is one of the highest polluters of the oceans in the entire world. The sad strategy you see some retailers of going to so-called biodegradable plastic won't help the turtles. Anyone who says otherwise should be forced to ingest their stomach full of these bags and see what happens. And the horrible pollution caused by the manufacture of plastics is another reason we should not be making it. The most frustrating part is other countries solved the plastic bag problem a long time ago. But in Thailand they have no intention of ever doing that. No one cares about the sea life. It's all about a little face saving gesture and living on as usual not thinking about it.