Marine Debris in Green Sea Turtles along the
Northern Coast of Taiwan

Dr Jim Clarke

Research Article

Marine Debris in Green Sea Turtles along the Northern Coast of Taiwan

I-Jiunn Cheng*, Pin-Chun Chou, Ying-Tin Chan and Tsung-Hsien Li

Institute of Marine Biology, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan, ROC, 202-24

Corresponding Author

Received Date: November 12, 2020; Published Date: December 09, 2020

Abstract

Sea turtles ingesting marine debris is a major problem worldwide. This is the first study ever done on the marine debris ingested by sea turtles in Taiwan, 191 dead green sea turtles from 2012 to 2019, mainly in northern coasts. We identified seven debris types and 15 colors. Plastic rope, soft and hard plastics, foam plastic and unidentified material were the most common ingested debris. White, transparent and mixture were either the common or the most common ingested color. Juveniles consumed more type of debris than the other age classes. Debris was found remain in the digestive tract for several weeks or longer prior to be found or excretion.

Keywords: Sea turtles; Marine debris; Plastic type; Plastic color; Digestive tract

Article Details

Citation

I-Jiunn Cheng, Pin-Chun Chou, Ying-Tin Chan, Tsung-Hsien Li. Hawkins. Marine Debris in Green Sea Turtles along the Northern Coast of Taiwan. Ad Oceanogr & Marine Biol. 2(3): 2020. AOMB.MS.ID.000537.