A green sea turtle was found dead and floating in the sea off the Na Chom Thien beach in Sattahip district of Thailand’s eastern province of Chon Buri on Saturday.
The fishermen who found the dead turtle, one of the largest sea turtle species, towed the animal ashore and then alerted the Royal Thai Navy’s Centre for the Conservation of Sea Turtles, which dispatched officials to the beach.
The green turtle is estimated to have been about 15 years old, weighing about 50kgs and measuring 1.6 metres long. It is thought to have died 3-4 days ago before it was found by fishermen.
Officials found no traces of wounds or injuries on the shell of the turtle and suspect that it died after it had swallowed plastic waste.
The animal has been sent to the centre for examination by veterinarians who will conduct an autopsy to determine the exact cause of its death.
The green sea turtle was the ninth sea turtle to be found dead in Sattahip this year. Most of them were found to have plastic bags, plastic pieces, used fishing nets or discarded fishing rope in their stomachs.
