Dozens Of Dead Turtles Discovered In Big Stone Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota, USA
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The United States Fish and Wildlife Service says as many as 200 turtles have been found dead in the Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge near Ortonville.
The discovery was made on April 30 on a half-mile section of the Minnesota River, both on the banks and in the water. Crews are still counting the dead, which include species such as the snapping and painted turtle.
USFWS officials say some of the turtles have been sent to Madison, Wisconsin for testing at the USGS National Wildlife Health Center.
Courtesy of minnesota.cbslocal.com
800 dead turtles wash up since January on beaches in Odisha, India
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At least 800 Olive Ridley sea turtles died, their carcasses washed ashore since January 2021, on the beaches of Odisha — 30 kilometres along the Gahirmatha marine sanctuary and its nearby areas from Silali to Nasi beach.
Gahirmatha marine sanctuary is the world’s largest rookery of the sea turtles.
“Turtles die after getting stuck in fishing nets. Many dead turtles bore injuries, which pointed to the possibility of them being trapped in a trawl or gill net,” said Hemant Rout, environmentalist and secretary, Gahirmatha Marine Turtles and Mangrove Conservation Society.
The trawlers are supposed to fish beyond five kilometres from the coast, according to Odisha Marine Fishing Regulation Act, 1982. They are allowed to fish beyond 20 km from the coast in Gahirmatha marine sanctuary. But they violate the law and fish near the shore. As a result, turtles get caught in trawl nets and die, added Rout.
One of the two patrolling boats — purchased for Rs 6 crores four years ago — has been lying defunct for the last six months, according to Rout.
The risk to turtles can be reduced by equipping trawlers with turtle excluder devices (TED), which is a small additional net or metal grid inside the net that allows turtles to escape.
While the concept of enforcing legislation to use TED in trawler nets is not even remotely in sight, the government is planning to construct a riverine port at Akhadasali at the Mahanadi river near the Gahirmatha marine sanctuary.
Courtesy of downtoearth.org.in
10 dead turtles found washed up in Colombo, Sri Lanka
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Sri Lanka’s Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC), on Monday said it had launched an investigation after at least 10 dead turtles were washed ashore on the beaches of capital Colombo over the weekend, local media reported here Monday.
Concerns were raised after the carcasses of three turtles were found on the Mount Lavinia beach on Saturday while on Sunday five more dead turtles were found washed onto the Galle Face beach while another two were found in pretty much the same condition on the Wellawatte beach.
M.G.C. Sooriyabandara, Director General of the DWC, quoted in the local Daily Mirror said that a court order would be sought to obtain experts’ opinions to figure out the cause of events.
He further said thousands of turtles swim ashore on Sri Lankan beaches to lay eggs during the nesting season and it was common to find a few dead turtles after they get entangled in fishing nets.
However, he added that finding such a large number of carcasses will be investigated.
Courtesy of xinhuanet.com
351 dead turtles and 137 dead sea lions wash up on Baja California coast, Mexico #Turtles #SeaLions #BajaCalifornia #Mexico
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351 loggerhead sea turtles have been found dead on the same stretch of coastline where 137 sea lions were found deceased earlier this month.
The loggerhead sea turtles and sea lions were found on the Baja California coast, in northwestern Mexico.
he Mexican Centre for Environmental Law and the Centre for Biological Diversity have both said the death of the sea turtles highlights the need for net and line fishing to be banned in this area of the Pacific coast.
Searches following reports of beached sea lions on 4 September found the animals’ carcasses scattered along an 80-mile stretch of coast in Comondu, Baja California.
Tissue samples from the animals have been collected to establish a cause of death after authorities said the sea lions showed no sign of injuries from fishing nets or lines.
In Mexico, California sea lions are a protected species but aren’t considered to be at danger of extinction.
However, loggerhead sea turtles are considered endangered in the country.
Activists have argued that the use of nets are the main reason behind the death of the sea turtles.
The groups have said the area where they were found is considered a protected zone for sea turtles as current regulations only allow for 90 deaths a year while a temporary ban on commercial long-line and gill net fishing is implemented.
However, Mario Sanchez, who works for the Centre for Environmental Law, said: “We are concerned that the deaths of loggerhead turtles is getting worse in the Gulf of Ulloa and that environmental authorities have still not enforced the applicable regulations.”
In 2019, 331 loggerhead turtles were found dead in the area, and in 2018 the figure stood at 459.
Courtesy of Sky News
Dozens of dead turtles turning up every day in Majorca, Spain #Turtles #Majorca #Spain
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There’s deep concern at Llucmajor Marina over the large number of turtles being found dead.
Some people believe it might be birds, such as kites that are killing them, but Ecologists and experts say there’s never been a case of birds hunting turtles to eat them.
Farmers and hunters insist that the turtles are not dying because of lack of water saying that because of the number of hunters in the area there are lots of rafts and trough spaces.
Hunters also say that the numbers of kites in the area has increased significantly in recent years and could be killing the turtles.
Some days more than 15 turtles are found dead in Llumajor Marina.
Courtesy of majorcadailybulletin.com
30 dead turtles found on coast of Altata, Mexico #Turtles #Altata #Mexico
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Dozens of turtles and a baby whale were found dead in an area of Altata beach by residents of the place.
Surprised, they made a tour finding around 30 turtles and a baby calf in a state of decomposition and others more practically already in pure shell.
The place of the sighting is passing Nuevo Altata towards the area where the whale tour takes place.
They assume that tuna fishing vessels that use prohibited fishing gear without exclusions may be responsible.
Courtesy of lineadirectaportal.com
5 turtles found dead on Boccasette beach, Italy #Turtles #BoccasetteBeach #Italy
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It is not the first time this has happened, quite the contrary. Every year it happens to meet some beached turtles on the coasts of the Delta , but yesterday it was not an isolated case, as many as five tortoises were found along the Boccasette beach . Although a few weeks ago an environmental cleanup was carried out with its four tons of collected waste, this week’s bad weather was enough to plunge the coast back into plastic, especially buoys and mussel farming nets in the open sea. And it is among these waste that dead turtles were also found, some of them without carapaces and therefore most likely dead for some time.
As often happens on the Polesian coast, the specimens found should be related to sea turtles of the Caretta-Caretta species (the most common type in the Mediterranean sea), which arrived at the beach with the storm. Four of these specimens were found going towards the southern tip of the coast: from the Girotti bath in the direction of the sanctuary of the Madonnina, while one was identified towards the area that goes north starting from the Scano Palo di Bellan bath. These findings are sadly widespread phenomena which unfortunately have been increasing in recent years, also due to the increase in pollution of the seas.
Courtesy of ilmattino.it
12 turtles found dead on a beach in El Chupadero, Tecomán, Mexico #Turtles #ElChupadero #Tecomán #Mexico
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A total of 12 turtles were found dead on the beaches of El Chupadero, in Tecomán.
According to a group of fishermen, they discovered 12 dead turtles scattered on the beaches of Tecomán, some even with trammel lines in their mouths. Of others, they only found their shells.
They explained that this mortality is caused by poachers and foreigners who use trammel and falsework, which are traps for the massive capture of fish, but at the same time turtles and dolphins are trapped that die by drowning.
The fishermen of Tecomán ask the authorities to pay special attention to this matter, and, above all, to punish those responsible for this ecological damage.
Courtesy of colimanoticias.com
10 dead turtles found washed up on beaches in Alvarado and Boca del Rio, Mexico #Turtles #Alvarado #BocaDelRio #Mexico
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In two and a half months, 10 dead sea turtles in danger of extinction were located on beaches in the municipalities of Alvarado and Boca del Río , within the area of influence of the Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano National Park (PNSAV).
The latest finding was reported this Saturday, March 21, on the beach of the Lomas del Sol private subdivision , located in the Riviera Veracruzana , one of the areas of highest added value in the entire state of Veracruz.
It was a juvenile specimen of green turtle of reproductive age, a species protected by the Official Mexican Standard NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010, due to its critical and vulnerable status.
The civil association Earth Mission, which participates as a Environmental Monitoring Committee certified by Profepa , carried out the survey, which was found along with at least a dozen rays, a species close to manta rays with little commercial value in fishing activity.
Courtesy of veracruz.lasillarota.com
8 dead turtles found washed up in Northern Taiwan #Turtles #Taiwan
Photo By Coast Guard
The bodies of eight sea turtles were found on the northeastern coast of Taiwan on Sunday (Feb. 23), and researchers believe fishing activities to be the cause of the endangered animals’ deaths.
Seven green sea turtles were found dead on the shores between Nanya in Ruifang District and Longdone in Gongliao District of New Taipei City on Sunday. On the same day, another sea turtle was discovered in Bali District, also in New Taipei City.
Researchers from National Taiwan Ocean University rushed to the sites to perform autopsies before Coast Guard personnel buried the bodies nearby.
The eight turtles were identified as green sea turtles — a protected species whose numbers have been shrinking around Taiwan and its outlying islands over the years. Among them was a mature female measuring approximately 120 to 130 centimeters in length, and the others were adolescents.
Courtesy of taiwannews.com.tw
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