The Hindu
The Green Sea Turtle that was rescued at Valiathura after being caught in plastic waste.
Marine debris on the city’s shoreline, comprising mostly plastic waste
from the city’s homes, appears to be turning the depths of the sea into a
near death-trap for its own inhabitants.
A recent incident saw a Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas), listed as an
endangered species by various global organisations and also on the Red
List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), being
trapped in a mesh formed by plastic net shreds, plastic carry bags and
other garbage in the depths near the Valiathura sea pier.
Researcher Robert Panipilla and his team from the Valiathura-based
‘Friends of Marine Life’ forum, who were on a project to study and
document the marine biodiversity in the region, were taken aback to find
the turtle struggling to disentangle itself from the plastic trap that
it had waded into.
Mr. Panipilla, who had gone snorkelling along with his British friend
Paul Culvert and a few local fishermen to shoot on video the underwater
marine life in the area, said there was no clue as to how long the
turtle could have been trapped. “It was injured, but swam off in a hurry
as soon as we managed to free it from the long knots of plastic that
got tangled all over its body,” he said.
The incident, according to Mr. Panipilla, pointed to a greater danger,
and one that fishermen on the coast were increasingly complaining about
of late.
“Many of the fishermen here have been telling that recently, more than
fish, it’s plastic that gets caught in their nets,” he said, pointing
out that with more efforts on from various quarters to pump the city’s
waste into the sea, shoreline fishing was being made a sitting duck for
the ill-effects of all kinds of pollution, and not just plastic.
Incidents like turtles getting caught in plastic waste were not new, Mr.
Panipilla said, adding fishermen had recently rescued another one from
similar conditions near Shangumugham.
There was a change in approach too, with fishermen now being convinced
of the need of sending these endangered species back into the sea, he
said.
