BANGKOK, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- A fisheries faculty from a Thai University said on late Monday that in less than two months, more than 20 sea turtles had been killed from plastic or fish net wraps.
Thorn Thamrongnavaswasdi, vice dean of the fisheries faculty of Kasetsart University said that the sea turtles washed upon the shores of Phuket and Phang-nga beaches provinces could not survive as the trapped sea animals suffocated in plastic waste bags or struggled tremendously in fishing nets.
The marine scientist said that more than 20 green turtles and Olive rieley turtles were found on Mai Khao beach in the Sirinart national park in Phuket and the beach in Thai Muang national park in Phang-nga province in the past two months.
He said many were found dead with plastic or pieces of fish net wrapped around the turtles' legs or necks.
Thorn also said turtles found injured had serious wounds and barely survived after they were taken to a rehabilitation center for treatment.
Mai Khao and Thai Muang beaches have been the spawning ground for sea turtles which come to the beaches during October-February period.
Thorn however said the leatherback turtles have been missing for four years now.
"I mean, how many times have we warned about floating plastics in the sea and how dangerous these plastic bags can be on sea animals?" questioned Thorn. "Not all sea turtles are lucky though. If the sea is rough and trapped turtles are not visible to fishermen, the turtles drown in the sea."
In June this year on World Environment Day, the Thai Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment along with several ministries, pledged to raise public awareness against the use of plastic papers by launching a campaign called "Beat Plastic Pollution: If you can't reuse it, refuse it".
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Gen Surasak Karnjanarat, said the campaign will start with concerted efforts to reduce the use of plastic bags with straps and styrofoam materials in their offices, starting June 5.
Gen. Surasak said during the past 10 years, Thailand has produced about two million tons of plastic garbage every year. Of this, only 0.5 million tons are reused. Most of the plastic bags are contaminated or infected.
The plastic trash not only affects health and the environment but also the country's economy as a whole, he said.
