▲ China's state-run news agency Xinhua's YouTube video


A giant sea turtle rescued from Hainan, China, was treated for over a month, but eventually died without being able to return to the sea.

It was because of marine debris.

As a result of the dissection, close to 3 kg of marine debris, including plastic bags, fishing nets, and masks, was accumulated inside the sea turtle.



According to China's state-run news agency Xinhua and the Sanya Shimbun, a female sea turtle was found near Yalong Bay in Sanya City, Hainan Province, China in July.

The giant sea turtle with a body length of 90 cm and a weight of 100 kg was transported to the Haichang Marine Park Biological Nursery Center.

Although treatment for anal hernia, dehydration, and symptoms of infection was carried out, the sea turtle continued to show abnormal symptoms.

After several enemas, foreign substances such as garbage were discharged, and intestinal obstruction was suspected, and surgery was performed on the 25th.




As expected, the body of the sea turtle was filled with various kinds of garbage.

After 4 hours of operation, 1 kg of foreign material was removed, but the operation was terminated because there was too much leftover and the sea turtle's condition was not good.

The center tried to perform a second operation a few days later, but the sea turtle died the next day.



After that, the dead sea turtle was dissected, and 2 kg of various marine debris such as various plastic bags, fishing nets, and fishing hooks came out.

There was also a face mask in it.

The center explained, "As a result of the dissection, the turtle's intestines were severely necrotic, and the intestinal mucosa was bleeding in a large area. In particular, foreign substances were connected to each other with fishing lines throughout the intestine, so it could not be removed by surgery." .




The threat posed to marine life by the enormous amount of waste dumped into the sea is growing rapidly.

The main culprit of destruction of marine ecosystems is plastic waste.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, 8 million tonnes of plastic are dumped into the ocean every year, accounting for 80% of marine litter.




In particular, the amount of 'corona garbage' that has increased in each country since the outbreak of Corona 19 is also becoming a disaster.

Hong Kong-based marine conservation group Ocean Asia estimated in a report that 52 billion disposable face masks were produced last year, of which 1.56 billion were thrown into the sea.

Each mask weighs 3~4g, which means that an additional 4,680~6,240 tons of marine debris is generated per year.

A Brazilian marine conservation group said last year a face mask was found in the stomach of a penguin that was washed ashore from the state of São Paulo.




It's not just sea turtles and penguins that marine debris threatens. Many marine creatures are dying from eating garbage. In particular, finely decomposed microplastics become food for organisms at the bottom of the food chain, such as plankton and small fish, and circulate along the food chain. This means that it also affects humans. It would be too late to try to rectify the situation until the day when human survival is seriously affected.