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Many of you are now aware of the fact that marine life is suffering from marine debris.
Recently, for the first time in Korea, a sea turtle that died by swallowing a fishing hook was identified.
Correspondent Lee Yong-shik.
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This is a red sea turtle found dead on the beach in Ulsan last July.
An autopsy revealed that the airway was filled with water and the intestine was ruptured.
[Hyerim Lee / Veterinarian: The intestine is ruptured, so the findings of peritonitis are also being observed.]
Pieces of plastic and nets were also found in the stomach and intestines.
A large fishing hook was found on the carcass of another sea turtle.
This is the first time that a dead sea turtle has been confirmed by swallowing a fishing hook off the coast of Korea.
[Lee Hye-rim / Sea Turtle Collaborative Research Group: Both hooks and fishing lines are the cause of death.
It was a condition that caused severe inflammation throughout the small intestine.]
Autopsies on carcasses of sea turtles were first performed in 2017, and autopsies were performed on a total of 62 animals for five years until last year.
Of the 56 animals that the Sea Turtle Collaboration Research Group completed an autopsy and analysis, 48 of them had plastic waste inside their bodies.
1,432 pieces of plastic waste have been dumped.
[Shim Won-jun/Sea Turtle Collaborative Research Group: Although the physical effect is large, there is a very high possibility that the additives in plastics elute into the body and metastasize.]
About 30 sea turtle carcasses are found every year in the east and south coasts, and as sea turtles die from marine debris one after another, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries decided to quickly come up with a policy to protect sea turtles based on the research results on the causes of death.
(Video coverage: Hojun Choi)